“The conclave uses glamour to conceal its bases, buildings and properties.” Her blank stare prompted me to continue. “It’s illusionary magic. It makes one thing look like another. Some fae use personal glamour to hide their inhuman attributes so they can blend with humans. Others use terrestrial glamour to manipulate houses, buildings, property. Some of the more talented fae can make it feel real too, to a certain extent, but in most cases it doesn’t have to pass more than the look test. Terrestrial glamours tend to be used to hide things, meaning there are enchantments layered in the magic that push against the minds of anyone who gets too close. It says: Keep walking. There’s nothing to see here.”

“Huh.” She cocked her head. “It doesn’t fool you, though?”

“I have a knack for reading glamour.” It helped Geminis gauge the strength of a potential donor, as well as allowing us to see exactly what we were getting ourselves into by borrowing from a source. “With personal glamour, I have to touch it to read it, but terrestrial glamour is in the air. I can breathe it in, make contact that way, and unravel it.”

“You know all the cool tricks.”

“Shifting into a wolf is a pretty cool trick too.”

“Maybe. I guess.” She shrugged. “I’ve been a wolf, been raised with wolves, my whole life. Furred and fanged is my normal.”

I caught myself worrying the pearl bracelet Harlow had given me and twisted in my seat. “Any word on the Garzas?”

“They aren’t returning my calls.” With her thumb and finger, she flicked the plastic notice warning passengers to wear seat belts. “Either they’re back and not ready for company or they’re still traveling and don’t want to be disturbed.”

Hearing they embraced technology was promising at least. “There’s no way to be sure?”

“Only if you want to piss them off.” She half-smiled. “Trust me. When they’re ready, they’ll let us know.”

Flashing headlights in the rearview mirror tugged my attention away from her. “We’ve got company.”

No cars had passed since we pulled off the side of the road to wait. That we saw motion now set my nerves chiming with anticipation. This could be it.

A sporty car, an eye-catching shade of light green even in the dark, grew larger as it neared, and at the last minute it swerved off the road and squealed to a stop behind us. I powered down my window and waited.

Two women sat in the car. The one with a hand clamped over her mouth like she might be carsick I recognized. The other woman rolled her eyes, stepped out of the car and set about smoothing her pantsuit.