The woman frowned and looked over at her again.“We are dealing with spell books in this library.I was really thinking about someone with a focus on spell casting…”
Wave could feel the opportunity slipping between her fingers and gulped.How much could she say without jeopardizing herself?She squared her shoulders and faced the woman’s look steadily.
“It took me less than a minute to crack your job advertisement, if that’s something you are looking for,” she said.
The woman’s eyes widened.“And what spell did you use to do that, dear?”
“Focus,” Wave replied.It was close enough to the truth.She had used her raw powertofocus, not a focus spell, but the end result was the same.The woman seemed to mull that over for a moment and then nodded to herself, clearly coming to some decision.Wave just hoped it was in her favor.
“Let me tell you a little bit more about the position, and then we’ll see how you feel about it.How’s that?”
“Thank you.”
The woman laughed slightly.“Don’t thank me yet.We haven’t been able to keep an assistant for more than half a semester in decades.I’m afraid the books have become quite unruly in that time, and the faculty… don’t get me started on teaching assistants messing up what little order we have remaining.I’d gladly ban them all from the premises.”
Wave bit the inside of her cheeks to stifle her smile.This woman clearly had some very strong opinions on the matter.
“I’m Mrs.Riverson,” she said and held out her hand for Wave to shake.Wave took it and squeezed firmly.
“Wayla Spinwell.”
“Well, come on, and I’ll show you around.See how you fare in the stacks.”
It took Wave less than half a shelf to feel the problem.While every book stood on its shelf, straight and free of dust, there was no rhyme or reason in the energies wafting at her.She wasn’t especially gifted in spells, but she knew magical energies, and the chaos around her was giving her a headache.
“Oh, stop that,” she half sighed, and swatted at an errant strand reaching for her.
“What was that, dear?”Mrs.Riverson asked over her shoulder.
“Oh, nothing, just some errant book testing the waters,” Wave replied.The woman stopped abruptly and spun to stare at her.Shit, did she mess up already?
“Where?”Riverson demanded.Carefully, Wayla pointed out the book that was still leaking tiny streams of energy.
“Feels like an unfinished spell,” she said, hoping not to make things worse.Mrs.Riverson narrowed her eyes at Wave and tilted her head.
“Anything else you can tell me about it?”
Wave had no intention of probing at an unidentified spell.It hadn’t felt malicious, but you never knew for sure.She shook her head.“Not without looking into it further, and I’m not going to do that without proper precautions.”
“Thank gods.”Mrs.Riverson let out a breath of relief.“In that case, I think we can try things out.You are hired on a temporary basis, Ms.Spinwell.If you make it through the first week, we can talk about a more permanent arrangement.”
“That’s it?”
Mrs.Riverson nodded empathetically.“You have no idea how many safety concerns that just alleviated for me.The number of idiots—”
A cough cut the woman’s starting rant off.“I’m sure you are not talking about me or my students, Mrs.Riverson,” said a graying old man, leaning on his cane.He was grinning at the flustered Mrs.Riverson, but something in that smile felt off to Wave.
“Professor Kilkenny,” Mrs.Riverson hastily greeted the man.“I would never—”
“Oh, sure, sure,” the man cut Mrs.Riverson off.“Now, I’m looking for Middle Age Moon Cycles.Where might I find it?”
Mrs.Riverson sighed heavily, and Wave got a distinct feeling that the woman wanted to roll her eyes.She didn’t, though, and just gritted her teeth slightly before replying, “What edition are you looking for, Professor Kilkenny?”
“The Hell Realms, of course,” the man snapped, like everyone should know already.Wave couldn’t help thinking that the jerk she had met on the stairs would be perfect as this professor’s teaching assistant.
“Let me see what I can do, Professor Kilkenny,” Mrs.Riverson said.“Wayla dear, come by tomorrow after you have your schedule, and we’ll see what hours might work for you?”
“Thank you, Mrs.Riverson.I’ll be here,” she replied quickly, more than happy to leave the woman to deal with the cranky professor.
