arc that would bring her to safe ground of her own accord. They certainly would need to have a chat about discipline. Still, there was no time for the horseplay of letting the Four Knot fall back through again. She snapped the Gate shut, and even then Notia stumbled on landing.
The Gate back to town was easier than the rest of the trip. Her head barely throbbed. She brought them out in front of the Warding Hall, hopping neatly out of the way as Dagdan followed. Barrit and Kos were waiting for them, leaning on the wall by the door to the Hall, at ease. The two men straightened as she appeared, though Barrit's face lost its cheery cast when he spotted the look on Notia's face.
"Situation?" Pevan kept her voice terse, hoping to stave off Notia's inevitable tirade.
"All clear." Kos smiled. "Jashi's watching the hawk back to the hill-top, but she sent Hullen down here saying it's shown no sign of turning."
"Good. The Stable Rods?"
Kos glanced over his shoulder at the hall; she could almost see the shiver run through him as he remembered what he'd been placed to watch. Barrit showed no such unease, crossing in a few brisk steps to the door and looking inside. "Still there." He turned back, a hint of reproach in his eyes. "I did check when Hullen appeared, but if they were going to filch the Rods, they'd have done it when we were at our most distracted, I'm sure."
Pevan treated him to a quick nod. "Good. Kos, run and help Jashi. I'm going after Van Raighan."
"Hold on a minute." Notia was trying to sound like Dora, but the attempt just left her sounding nasal, a hornet where Dora would have been a hawk. "You'll be needed with the Wildhawk. You can't run off and abandon the town like this."
"The Wildhawk is no danger." Pevan fought back the urge to scream at Notia. Kos hovered at the edge of vision, poised on the cusp of running. Defying a direct order because of the would-be Four Knot's meddling. "The Wilder that can make an eight-mile Gateway into the Warding Hall itself, that's a danger, and that's what was helping Van Raighan. Never mind that he's at large again, and his trail is going cold." She turned to Kos. "What are you waiting for? Move!"
He did so, without even an apologetic look for either woman. Pevan spun up the first Gateway, its gyre rippling in time with her headache. As it burst open behind her feet, Notia's eyes widened. "Don't you dare, Pevan. I order you to stay!"
"You don't have the authority."
"We'll see what the Sherriff has to say about that." Notia folded her arms. "Don't make me do this."
A twinge ran through Pevan's gut. Pollack should take her side, but he was so used to being brow-beaten by Federas' Four Knot. Would he remember Notia was only a trainee? "The Sherriff knows the law." She glanced at Barrit and Dagdan, received cautious nods in return. "I'll only be gone as long as it takes to find some definite hint where Van Raighan's headed. An hour, I hope."
"Don't think that we'll welcome you back." Notia held her voice steady and quiet, almost managing to be menacing, but the petulant set of her eyes, the twist of her lip, betrayed her.
"We'll see about that." Pevan let herself fall backward into the Gateway. Maybe Notia really would go to the Sherriff. Maybe Pollack would have the sense to shut her up until someone could come and take her in hand, or Dora got back.
***
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About the author
R. J. Davnall has been telling stories all his life, and thus probably shouldn’t be trusted to write his own bio. He holds a PhD in philosophy and teaches at Liverpool University, while living what his mother insists on calling a 'Bohemian lifestyle'. When not writing, he can usually be found playing piano, guitar or World of Warcraft.
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