[ TT ] Like all magicians , you were trained to only perform 'tricks ' explainable as an illusion , so that no one ever learns of your true powers .

`` Hey, Jim, I got another one,'' Charlie called from the kitchen. 
 
 I groaned. `` Already?'' 
 
 Charlie made an apologetic noise. `` Sorry. Milk, two sugars, right?'' 
 
 I rubbed my eyes and did n't bother answering. He knew already. 
 
 When I had arrived at the interview a couple weeks ago, I'd been a bit worried. There had n't been much detail in the ad: `` Creative individual needed. Experience with magic tricks, sleight of hand, pickpocketing, and science fiction writing preferred, not necessary. Pay negotiable.'' And then the address and the time. 
 
 It was an odd ad. But I'd gone, partially *because* it was odd, partially because I'd written a few short stories in high school, partially because I knew a bit of magic, and mostly because I needed a damn job. 
 
 The address brought me to the third floor of an apartment building with a broken elevator, where someone had set up chairs, snacks, and a pitcher of water in the cramped stairwell. A couple other guys and a blond girl named Sarah were there as well; we chatted. No-one had any idea what the position was for. 
 
 That was when Charlie opened the door, and started inviting us in, one at a time. Sarah went first. 
 
 Back in the present, Charlie sat down across from me, setting a steaming mug on the table. He snapped his fingers three times over the coffee, dispensing a splash of milk and two puffs of sugar; the drink stirred itself as I reached out to grab it. 
 
 `` So, what's the new trick?'' I asked. I sipped. 
 
 Charlie was a tallish man, with short straight hair and ambiguous skin colour. He glanced up. `` Fire,'' he said. `` It's fire that does n't emit heat, does n't produce smoke, it just burns. Consumes what it's eating and leaves behind a little diamond. A hot one.'' 
 
 I considered. `` Tricky,'' I said. `` Tricky.'' 
 
 Back at the interview, I'd been the third to go. None of the others had come out, but I'd spotted Sarah hailing a taxi through the window, ruling out a ritual sacrifice chamber. The remaining guy had nodded to me when the `` Next!'' echoed through the wooden door, and I'd entered Charlie's domain. 
 
 For a moment, I saw the man sprawled on an armchair, then he snapped his fingers. There was a flash of light at a point just in front of my eyes, and I felt something small and metal thump into my hands. I looked down. 
 
 A coin winked back at me. 
 
 I looked up. 
 
 `` The door is closed,'' said Charlie, though I did n't yet know his name, and I had n't heard it closing. 
 
 I took a small step backwards. It was, indeed, closed. 
 
 `` Now,'' he said, `` what just happened.'' Command, not question. 
 
 I blinked. `` You snapped your fingers,'' I ventured, `` there was a flash of light, and I felt a coin drop into my hands.'' 
 
 He nodded, glanced up. `` Yes, that's right. Why? How?'' 
 
 I looked around for a chair, found one just to my right. I sat down. He did n't seem like the type to mind. 
 
 `` Well,'' I said, `` perhaps you used a mirror to flash a light in my eyes while snapping, then tossed me the coin while I was dazed.'' 
 
 He considered. `` That's a good idea. More detail.'' 
 
 `` A concave mirror, maybe? To make it seem like the light's coming from somewhere it is n't?'' 
 
 He was smiling, now. `` That's a start,'' he said. `` That's a start. If you'll leave a phone number, I'll contact you tomorrow and tell you if you got the job.'' 
 
 And I did get the job. That's how I ended up here. 
 
 `` So,'' Charlie prompted, `` ideas?'' 
 
 `` You've got an insulated sheath up your sleeve,'' I said, `` with the hot diamond tucked in a hidden pocket. Do n't let them look at the diamond too long - they've got to think it's actually a diamond, but know it's glass. The fire... dip your hands in water for the previous trick, and do n't dry them off...''
