Chapter 5
“This is bad, Cece.”
“Kinsley!” Maisie gave the pretty brunette a pointed look.
Kinsley leaned back in the booth. “Look, I’m not going to sugarcoat it if I think our best friend is in danger, Maize.”
“I’m not asking you to sugarcoat, I’m just saying there’s a better way to express our worry.” Maisie tugged on a piece of her auburn hair, a sure sign that she was stressed out. “Cece, you have to go to the police.”
“And tell them what?” Cece poked at the pasta on her plate. “That a woman who communicates with ghosts says my dead aunt believes a powerful witch family is after me?”
Maisie wrinkled her nose. “That does sound…”
“Crazy,” Kinsley said.
Cece waited for Maisie to chastise Kinsley again, but she stayed silent. Probably because it did sound crazy.
“I mean, I don’t even know for sure that this Willow woman isn’t crazy, right?” she said. “It really could have been just a random mugging.”
“Maybe,” Maisie said, but her dark brown eyes didn’t lose that sheen of worry. “But what if she isn’t crazy?”
“We need Elora,” Kinsley said. “If there are a bunch of witches after you, Elora can stop them. She’s, like, the most powerful witch in the world now.”
“One, she’s more powerful, but she isn’t the most powerful witch in the world,” Cece said, “and two, you know as well as I do that we can’t contact her right now.”
She stared at her plate again, hoping that Maisie and Kinsley couldn’t see how close she was to tears.
Fuck, she missed Elora with an intensity that gave her a stomachache, but nothing could be done about it.
Elora and her boyfriend Jonah had spent Christmas in the old country with Elora’s grandmother.
Once Helen realized how much Elora’s power had grown in the last few months, she had insisted Elora stay to do the Rituals of Azeri.
They had gone deep into the mountains where cell coverage was nonexistent, and Cece had no idea when Elora would return.
“There has to be some way to contact her,” Kinsley said. “A satellite phone or something.”
“There isn’t,” Cece said. “The rituals work better when they’re cut off from the outside world, so they deliberately don’t allow themselves any technology to communicate.”
“I still don’t understand why she even has to do the rituals,” Maisie said.
“It’s to help her control her new power better,” Cece said. “There’s more to it than that, but…”
“But you’re scared and sad as shit and don’t feel like explaining the details,” Kinsley said.
“I’m okay,” Cece said.
“No, honey, you’re not.” Kinsley reached across the booth and took her hand.
“And it’s okay that you’re not. You’ve lost your aunt, your best friend, temporarily, and found out your family was lying to you for your entire life, just in the last few months.
No one would be okay under those circumstances. ”
Her bottom lip trembling, Cece took the tissue that Maisie shoved into her free hand and wiped at the tears sliding down her cheeks.
“If this Willow woman isn’t telling the truth…” Maisie said hesitantly.
“She is,” Cece said. “I keep wanting to pretend that she’s completely nuts, but I know she’s telling me the truth. And if you had met her, you would have believed her, too.”
“Sometimes crazy people are very good at sounding normal and believable,” Kinsley said gently.
“It isn’t just that,” Cece said. “The stuff she knew about my aunt and me, that no one else knew… how do you explain that?”
“She could have been a friend of your aunt,” Kinsley said.
Kinsley was the practical, logical one in their friend group, and Cece had always admired that about her, but right now, she really just wanted her best friend to believe her.
“It’s true, Kins,” she said wearily. “At least the part about me being a blood witch and my father. But whether his family is actually after me is still up for debate.”
“What do you mean?” Maisie asked.
“I did some research on the Sylvan family. Willow was right. They are one of the most powerful witch families on the west coast, but they’re also very…”
“What?” Kinsley asked.
“Respectable,” Cece said. “Adora Sylvan runs two non-profits, and Werner is a member of the High Council in the western WWC. They have two children, my father and another son, Alistair. Alistair owns one of the most prestigious law firms in the country. They’re well-liked, from what I can tell, and I can’t find a single complaint against them or any negative press.
Most of the information is on their non-profits, Werner’s position at the WWC, and on my father’s death. ”
“How does it say he died?” Kinsley asked.
“Car accident,” Cece said. “While I believe that Willow is communicating with Aunt Sybil, I’m not entirely sold on the idea that my father’s family is trying to kill me.
The mugging was three days ago, and there hasn’t been anything since.
Maybe it really was just random, and I got lucky that Willow chose that day to speak to me so Briggs could save me. ”
She blushed just saying his name, and Maisie immediately said, “So, you gonna hit that or what?”
“Of course not,” Cece said.
“Why not?” Maisie asked. “You told us he’s a polar bear shifter. You love polar bears, and if you slay his world in the bedroom, maybe he’ll be willing to shift to his bear form for you. Then you won’t have to go all the way to Alaska to see a polar bear.”
“He’s not attracted to me,” Cece said.
“Hold up,” Kinsley said. “Let’s recap for a second… a couple of months ago, this guy, Briggs, and his polar bear friend were trying to save Elora’s life, but you didn’t know that, so you - very bravely, I will add - took on two giant polar bear shifters -”
“I didn’t know they were polar bear shifters at the time,” Cece said.
Kinsley waved her off. “You took on two gigantic shifters, and when Briggs touched you, your magic went haywire, and you nearly crushed him with a tree before making out with him.”
“I nearly crushed both of us with a tree,” Cece said. “Not just him.”
“Right. And while you were making out, your magic went even crazier and this guy, this Briggs who you say is not attracted to you, shoved his hand down your pants and asked you if you wanted to be fucked to which you said, ‘yes, please’, and the only reason you didn’t actually fuck this guy thirty seconds after meeting him is because you needed to save Elora’s life.
So, yeah, that guy? He’s not attracted to you. Is that what you’re telling us?”
“You’re leaving out the very important detail that I’m ninety-nine percent positive that he’s my,” Cece swallowed hard, “conduit.”
“Yeah, I’m going to need you to explain this whole conduit thing again,” Maisie said before popping a fry into her mouth.
“A conduit is a human or a paranormal who, when a witch touches them, it feeds their magic and makes it stronger,” Cece said. Blushing again, she said, “The more intimate the touch, the stronger the magic becomes.”
“And you’re automatically attracted to the conduit?” Maisie asked.
“Sometimes, but not always. A witch has no idea that a person is their conduit until they actually touch them. But once they touch them, the attraction usually amps up between them. Especially to the conduit because they’re getting a hit of the witch or warlock’s magic, too, and it feels good.”
“So fucking weird,” Maisie said.
“It’s awful,” Cece said. “The attraction isn’t real. It’s only because of magic that the conduit and the witch feel the attraction, and yet the conduit is forced to stay with the witch the rest of their lives, serving them sexually so the witch can increase their magic.”
“So,” Maisie chewed on another fry, “you’re telling me that the only reason you’re attracted to him is because of this conduit thing. There isn’t any part of you not ruled by your magic who would bang that giant polar bear shifter like a screen door?”
“That’s right,” Cece said before looking away.
“Hoo, that’s some bullshit right there, isn’t it, Kins?”
“Yep,” Kinsley said.
“Fine!” Cece said. “Maybe I was attracted to him when I first saw him in the hospital, but any red-blooded woman would be. He’s giant-sized with broad shoulders and gorgeous blue eyes, and these beautiful, thick thighs, and his biceps are bigger than my head.”
“What about his ass?” Maisie asked.
“Spectacular,” Cece sighed.
“Nice,” Maisie said, giving Cece a thumbs-up.
“No, not nice,” Cece said. “Now that he’s my conduit, it doesn’t matter that I was attracted to him beforehand. His attraction is still not real.”
“Well, you don’t have to stay with the conduit, right? You can, like, set them free or whatever,” Kinsley said.
“Most witches find it impossible to stay away from their conduit. They get addicted to that extra magic, too,” Cece said.
“Magic is messed up,” Maisie said.
“It can be. But it’s why I need to stay the hell away from Briggs.
As rare as it is to have a conduit, how my magic reacted to touching him, how quickly we were, um, into each other, makes it pretty clear that he’s my conduit.
As much as I don’t want to believe it, it’s the only logical explanation.
And I definitely can’t fuck him. Just touching him that day outside the hospital made my magic stronger than I’d ever imagined possible.
I don’t even know what would happen if we had sex and he gave me his… ”
“His what?” Kinsley’s brows raised.
Her cheeks a fiery red, Cece mumbled. “Seed.”
“Seed?” Maisie repeated, her voice way too loud for the busy restaurant. “I’m sorry, did you just say his seed?”
“Hush, Maize,” Kinsley said absently. “Explain, Cece.”
She sighed again. “Look, this part could be complete bullshit because it’s not like I know a witch with a conduit, so I’m getting all of my information from the goddamn internet.
But according to my research, while the physical touching and the actual act of sex with their conduit can and does increase a witch’s magic, if they’re fucking and the conduit comes in the witch, then that gives the most powerful boost of magic. ”
“Huh, magical cum. Neat,” Maisie said before eating another fry.
“It could just be bullshit,” Cece repeated.
“Conduits are incredibly rare, so there isn’t a lot known about them, plus they only happen to blood witches, not apprentice witches, and a lot of blood witches are weird about sharing any magic information with, like, the general public or even apprentice witches. They prefer to keep it to themselves.”
“I guess that lends credit to you being a blood witch,” Kinsley said thoughtfully. “If what Willow said wasn’t true, then this Briggs guy couldn’t be your conduit.”
“Exactly,” Cece said. “If I didn’t have any natural magic ability, and it was all just learned through apprenticeship, then I would never have a conduit and I wouldn’t…”
“What?” Maisie asked.
“My moods are starting to affect my magic. Like, if I’m afraid or upset, it sets off my magic, and that doesn’t happen to apprentice witches.
Their moods don’t affect their magical abilities at all.
It’s why blood witches going through puberty often have such a hard time controlling their magic.
It’s growing stronger anyway, and then you add in messed-up emotions and hormones, and next thing you know, you’ve got fire witches accidentally setting fires in the cafeteria and water witches flooding the entire second floor of your high school. ”
Maisie laughed. “Oh my God, that’s both awful and hilarious.”
“So, if you’re actually a blood witch, why didn’t your magic flare up during puberty?” Kinsley asked.
“Maybe she’s a magical late bloomer,” Maisie suggested.
Cece shrugged. “It’s a good enough explanation as any. Who the fuck knows what or why magic decides to do what it does.”
“Cece,” Kinsley gave her a solemn look, “what if that witch family is after you? What if you’re in danger like your aunt says you are?”
“I have to hope she’s wrong,” Cece said. “I can’t go to the police without any proof.”
“Maybe you could hire the security firm,” Maisie said. “That’s what they do, right? They keep people safe.”
“Hire them with what money?” Cece asked. “My house is falling apart around me, and my furnace is on its last legs. It’s supposed to get super cold next week, and not freezing to death in my own home is, honestly, more of a pressing concern.”
“You can stay at my place,” Kinsley said. “Do you need me to drive you to your house to get some things? I don’t trust that your piece of shit car will get you home and back to my place.”
“Hey, my car is doing just fine,” Cece said.
“Is it, though?” Maisie asked.
“For now. The mechanic did mention that if I didn’t fix…
something else… it would just crap out again,” Cece admitted.
“But it would be over six hundred to fix, and even the mechanic said the car wasn’t worth that much.
But for now, I’m hoping the damn thing lasts me through the winter.
And as much as I appreciate the offer to stay with you, I can’t.
Knowing my luck, my furnace would quit completely while I’m at your place, and my pipes would freeze and burst or something. ”
“Not sure it would make much of a difference,” Kinsley said. “As you said, your house is falling apart, Cece.”
“I’ve been watching some DIY home repair videos on YouTube, and I think there’s a bunch of stuff I can fix myself,” Cece said.
“We can help, too,” Maisie said.
“Or, you can just sell the house and buy a cute condo,” Kinsley said.
“With everything that needs to be fixed in the house, I wouldn’t even get enough to pay off the mortgage,” Cece said.
“I still think you should stay with me. At least while it’s so damn cold next week,” Kinsley said.
Cece squeezed Kinsley’s hand. “If I really am in some kind of trouble with this witch family, I won’t put you in danger, too, Kins.”
“But we’re supposed to be okay with leaving you alone and in potential danger?” Kinsley asked.
“You don’t have any magical ability,” Cece said gently. “I would at least have a chance to fight back.”
“I don’t like this plan,” Maisie said.
“Ditto,” Kinsley said.
“Honestly, I don’t think we have anything to worry about,” Cece said. “I think Aunt Sybil is wrong about the family coming after me. It’s twenty-five years. No one holds a grudge for that long.”