Free Deader Still by Anton Strout

…”
    “I bet that’s why they passed you,” Jane said. “Improvising under real danger like that!”
    “Not everyone who voted on it was in agreement,” Wesker added. “Calling Jane was cheating.”
    “Was not,” I said.
    “I wish I knew exactly what I did over the phone,” Jane said, taking a moment to sign the form I had brought.
    “Yes,” Wesker added. “So do I. I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that. Since when are you a technomancer? You’re not authorized to be doing Greater Arcana yet.”
    “Don’t you have some children to scare?” I asked.
    “Watch it,” he said. “I still have seniority over you.”
    Unlike at the convention center, I didn’t have Connor or the Inspectre here to back my bravado just now. Plus, Jane still had to answer him, so it was in my best interest to not sound too much like a smart-ass.
    “I wasn’t being snarky, sir ,” I lied. It was getting easier after almost being caught rummaging through Connor’s desk. “I just thought I saw some of the kids in the Young Adult section acting suspiciously, and since no one’s up front, God knows what they’re up to …”
    Wesker didn’t look like he believed me fully, but I knew he wouldn’t abide any potential shoplifting under his watch. He excused himself from the Stacks and headed off toward the front of the store.
    Jane pushed me up against one of the bookshelves and kissed me. I kissed her back with equal fervor until I became self-conscious. We were, after all, making out in a roomful of evil—or at least enchanted—books, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that we were being watched. I pulled away, though it pained me to do so.
    “So … what was up with that rat-blendering spell?” I asked.
    Jane looked surprised. “Arcana hasn’t let me start working with greater magic in an official capacity yet, but Thaddeus has authorized me for some Lesser Arcana practice.”
    Thaddeus? I bristled at her familiarity. Since when had Divisional Director Wesker become Thaddeus to her? I tried to swallow the ridiculous schoolboy jealousy that I found had sprung up inside me. My relationship with Jane was the first one that had lasted more than a few weeks—now that I had learned to control my powers somewhat—but it also meant that I had to start learning how to control the teenlike jealousy that came with the unfamiliar territory of something long-term.
    “What other magic can you do?” I asked, trying to get back on track.
    Jane shrugged and shied her eyes toward her feet. “Just little things. I can light a match, change the temperature of water, make milk go sour … April Fool’s Day-level stuff, really.”
    “Well, that’s great,” I said with as much encouragement as I could muster. “So the rat thing … ?”
    She reached over and squeezed my hands, passing her excitement over to me. “I don’t know. I’ve been spending a lot of time filing things away in the Stacks and when you called, I guess I just let my fingers do the walking. I found what I hoped would work on maybe a few of the rats in the second book I opened.”
    “It didn’t just take out a few, Jane. It was like a Cuisinart had been taken to all of them to make one big rat smoothie …”
    Her eyes widened. “Really?”
    “Don’t get too excited,” I said. “I don’t like the idea of you delving into the spells that fill the books of the Black Stacks here.”
    “Why? Because I’m a girl?” Jane gave a little pout. “No offense, hon, but that comes off as kinda sexist. Am I going to have to call HR?”
    I shook my head and held up my hands. “I don’t mean it like that. I was just surprised to hear that you were dabbling a little bit with black magic. I dunno … I just thought that’s something you would have told me about.” I suppressed the urge to ask what else she might have neglected to tell me about, specifically just how she had become so chummy with her boss, “Thaddeus.” I took a deep breath until the