The Dark Glamour (666 Park Avenue 2)

anyway, so between all of it Katrin had to come at you some other way.’
    Jane turned around again, deeply impressed. No matter how many other ways Katrin’s magic was being used, for Dee to have kept a determined witch out of her head when she hadn’t even realized that she needed to was extraordinary. ‘Seriously?’
    ‘So when I saw this “Kate” schmoozing with Belinda Helding, I went straight to pick up Dee, and Mae, and get the hell out of the city,’ Harris continued, his eyes still ever-alert. ‘Grandma and Aunt Charlotte still couldn’t decide what to do, or whose side we were on, or if anything was even really going on, but enough was enough.’
    ‘And he was headed upstate when I told him he didn’t quite have everybody,’ Dee finished softly, and a warm feeling spread through Jane’s belly.
    ‘You came back for me,’ Jane whispered, leaning back against the headrest. Even the ache in her leg was beginning to feel just like another kind of heat, and she thought she could almost fall asleep.
    ‘Of course,’ Maeve confirmed, sounding indignant. Jane smiled; she was sure Maeve would have a few things to say about being kept out of the loop for the last couple of months.
    The thought sobered her, and she felt a stab of doubt. How long could their enthusiasm really last in the face of the stark reality ahead of them? ‘I really appreciate it,’ she told them sincerely. ‘But as soon as we’re clear of the city, I’m going to need you to—’
    ‘Split up?’ Maeve asked sarcastically.
    ‘Go somewhere safe,’ Dee drawled.
    ‘Leave you to face the danger on your own,’ Harris finished, rolling his eyes and shifting lanes.
    Jane bit her lip. ‘One witch,’ she sighed, ‘and a Wiccan, and two people who know more than most about magic. But one witch. War really is coming, and doom and gloom and everything you’ve heard. I can’t keep you safe on my own, and I will
not—’
    ‘We’re sticking together from now on,’ Harris interrupted grimly, sparing Jane an emerald glance that cut her to the bone. ‘End of discussion.’
    He smiled mysteriously, and Maeve cleared her throat significantly. Jane turned to her, and as she did, she felt a strange pressure building in the car, like the charge before a thunderstorm. Maeve was staring at a space in the air between them, and just when Jane opened her mouth to ask what she was doing, something floated up into that space. The headlights of the cars travelling in the opposite direction caught it over and over like a strobe light; it was a silver tube of Givenchy Tempting Coral.
    The lipstick hovered in the air, trembling slightly, and with an effort Jane could feel almost physically, Maeve tore her eyes away from it to lock them with Jane’s. She looked exhausted but fierce, like a warrior. The lipstick stayed in place even after Maeve had stopped looking at it. ‘Want to freshen up?’ Maeve asked through a tensed jaw, and the silver tube moved even closer to Jane.
    As she reached up and pulled the lipstick out of the air, her battered muscles aching from the effort, Jane ignored the pain and focused on only one thing: the feeling of hope rising in every inch of her.