I tightened my jaw to keep myself from gaping. There must’ve been hundreds of disks. I’d never seen that many at once. I could fill my satchel and live a good life until I was old and grey.

You can’t steal his silver, Andi. He’s paying you too much for you to go and become a thief. And besides, God will see you.

I examined the welding pen without bothering to pick it up. It looked expensive, but only based on aesthetics, because the tip was slightly too thick to be of any use. I’d stick with mine. I shifted all the thread from the basket to the shelf and began filling it with silver disks instead.

“Are those all right?” Magnus asked, looking at the thread I’d put away.

“They’re perfect, for when the time comes,” I said, examining each disk for imperfections before I put them in the basket. “I don’t need them for simple Manifestations.”

“Which is the simplest room, would you say?”

“The stairs.” I tried on the pair of sleek black metal welding goggles beside the ridiculous pen. They even had an optional magnification lens with the twist of a gear. Keep. “It’s not physically present, only visual. I suppose you could call it an illusion. Normally that means it has a weaker hold than Manifestations that actually make contact with the physical world.”

“I’ve always wondered, what’s the difference between the one you’ll make for the stairs and the one you’re wearing?”

I glanced down at my amulet. “This one is an all-purpose shield. It protects me from curses and deters Manifestations. The ones I construct to cleanse the house are specific for each Manifestation, essentially expelling them back to where they came from.”

“Hm.” Magnus crossed his arms, leaning his shoulder on the wall to face me. “How can you tell which amulet goes with which room?”

“I visualize it, like a map in my mind, if that makes sense.”

“It does.” He paused. “No one’s ever explained it to me this well. It’s actually fascinating when you understand how it works.”

“I think so, too.” A small hammer and jar of nails were the last thing I added to the basket before hooking it over my elbow. I usually didn’t get to explain my craft to anyone, and I was actually enjoying the conversation, but I wasn’t sure how to continue it.

“You know, you don’t have to work quite yet,” Magnus said. “We can’t sign the contract until Esjay arrives tonight.”

Well, I had been enjoying it. Now I wasn’t sure I liked where it was going. “I like work.”