The Dark Glamour (666 Park Avenue 2)

because you don’t harness something this major without a lot of rules. It was this coven in Sweden – I guess they were the real thing, like your family and the Dorans. They made these as weapons; tools they could use that would destroy anyone else who tried without the proper rituals. But it wasn’t enough, I guess, because rumour has it that they were wiped out centuries ago. We don’t know how many orbs were left in their stockpile when that happened, but they’re almost never heard of these days. We got this one because a friend of mine from fifteen years ago bragged about seeing one once after a little too much blessed wine, but I honestly wouldn’t know where to even begin with finding another one. So I want to be very sure before we begin that you really, really understand the rules.’
    Jane opened her mouth to answer, but the words caught in her throat.
    ‘We should review,’ Dee murmured softly, and Jane nodded gratefully.
    ‘The spell lasts for twenty-eight days exactly,’ Misty began pedantically, ‘one full cycle of the moon. There’s no way to know what you’ll look like once it’s done, so we can’t really lay any groundwork for your new persona
before
we do the spell. But that means that you’ll really need to hit the ground running once it’s done, because once the twenty-eight days are up, that persona will be gone for good. But the good news is that the fuel for the spell comes from the orb that whole time, not from you, so you’ll have all of your magic in case you need it.’
    ‘That’s good.’ Jane nodded. She had tried what Dee had called a ‘glamour’ the day before. After a few attempts, she had succeeded in making her hair look blond again, but it was exhausting work and slipped back to its dyed shade every time she thought about anything else whatsoever. It was an interesting parlour trick, but it wouldn’t hold up.
    ‘It really is,’ Dee reminded her encouragingly. ‘A month isn’t very long for everything you’ll have to do with your new face. As soon as you talk to Lynne, she’ll know you’re a witch no matter what you look like, so you can forget trying to pretend you’re anything else. She’ll expect you to be able to do magic. The more power you have at your disposal, the more interested in you she’ll be.’
    Jane nodded again, trying to look a little more enthusiastic this time. But she couldn’t keep one thought from fluttering around the corners of her mind like a bat:
Magic has a mind of its own . . .
    The spell might work, but it could certainly work in unexpected and wrong ways.
I could get stuck. The spell could end while I’m in the middle of a conversation with Lynne. I could turn into a toad for a month. My mind could change along with my face. This could all be for nothing, or it could be for worse than nothing.
She shivered, drawing the black hoodie that she had borrowed from Dee tighter around her shoulders.
But it’s the best plan I’ve got.
    ‘The disguise might start to fade out towards the end of the month,’ Misty went on, echoing Jane’s fears a little too closely for her comfort. ‘The stronger we manage to make the initial spell, though, the less likely that will happen, so if you want to take some more time to get ready—’
    ‘I’ve been getting ready all day,’ Jane interrupted. She had felt the bars of sunlight move across her bed as she had sent ripples through her magic, listened to it murmur. Her awareness had spread to every corner of the apartment; she had known about but ignored the trays of food Dee had left by her door, and had heard every worried thought of Misty’s since the wild-haired blonde had stepped across their threshold. She had even heard some thoughts of Dee’s, although she had tried to avoid it, but to her pleasant surprise, Dee’s mind-closing efforts seemed to be paying off. Her available thoughts were superficial, and while Jane was sure she could dig out the more substantial ones if she wanted to, it was a relief not to have them floating at her and distracting her from her calm.
    Now the sun was setting in a riot of red and gold out her remarkable panoramic living-room windows. A heavy lid of star-flecked dark blue chased it to the horizon, and Jane was pretty sure she wasn’t going to feel readier anytime soon.
    ‘The spell takes time,’ Dee told her softly. ‘We’re ready to start when you are, but it’ll be a long night once we do. If you’d like to at least eat something .