Page 5 of Elora and the Crow

Various plants of all shapes and sizes sat on tall wooden shelves, short metal shelves, thick wall shelves, and the floor itself. Each corner of the room held a wooden 5-tier plant stand, and plants loaded down each stand.

A beautiful hexagonal wooden plant stand covered with plants stood in front of the only window, and so many vine plants were hanging from the ceiling that you could barely see the ceiling. They grew lush and bold, and in a few years, they would hang so low that if Cece didn’t trim them, she’d be forced to push through the vines like a jungle explorer to get to her bed.

The whole room smelled of rich, dark earth with a sweet floral scent beneath it. While Cece preferred greenery over flowers, several of her plants produced flowers and provided a beautiful pop of colour against the greenery.

It was a beautiful private garden that thrived and bloomed and grew despite the winter season and the coldness of the room. Not that Elora was surprised - Cece was an apprentice green witch. Always obsessed with plants, Cece had naturally been drawn to the power of nature, and as she’d studied and practiced her witchcraft over the last year, her magic had grown significantly the more she involved plants, flowers, herbs, and even stones.

Elena trudged across the room to Cece’s bed. Cece sat cross-legged on the bed in a hoodie and thick sweatpants, with fingerless gloves on her hands and a knitted cap covering her long blonde hair. A book was on her lap, and with another soft caw, Lilianna flew off Elora’s shoulder. She landed on the bed before Cece and strutted across the quilt. She rubbed her beak along Cece’s fingers, and Cece stroked the midnight feathers on her chest.

“Hello, Lilikins.”

“What are you reading?” Elora climbed under the quilt and snuggled up to Cece.

Cece showed her the book cover. A Modern Guide to Witchcraft was written across the front in bold blue font, illustrated with flaming candles and roses dripping blood.

“I’ve read that one,” Elora said.

“It’s pretty good,” Cece said. She flipped the book back to her spot, and Elora rested her chin on Cece’s shoulder, scanning the page.

“Ooh, you’re reading about conduits.”

“I think the idea of a conduit is terrible,” Cece said.

“Why?”

She shrugged, stroking Lilianna’s feathers as the bird hopped on her knee and studied her. “A witch or a warlock finds a human who -”

“Or paranormal,” Elora said. “It doesn’t have to be a human.”

Cece waved her off. “Yeah, yeah, so they stumble onto this human or paranormal who’s a conduit for their magic, right? Like, they touch them, and it somehow feeds their magic, which makes it stronger, yes?”

“Yes,” Elora said. “And the more intimate the touch between them, the stronger the magic becomes.”

“Right,” Cece said. “So, they discover that fucking this person makes them stronger, and what do they do?”

“Fuck them more?” Elora said. “The extra power doesn’t last forever. It’s like a battery. Fucking the conduit charges the magic battery, but it slowly drains if you don’t keep fucking them.”

Cece tapped her finger on the page. “So, the conduit basically becomes a servant to them. Forced to serve them sexually so they can increase their magic.”

“The conduit feels an attraction to the witch or the warlock,” Elora said. “They get a high off the magic that flows between them. They want to stay with the witch, so it’s not really like a servant thing. Didn’t you read that in the book?”

“I did,” Cece said, “but the affection and the desire they feel for the witch or warlock is false. The conduit only stays with the witch because of the magic and their addiction to it. Would they be with that particular witch if they weren't a conduit?”

“They might be,” Elora said. “There are lots of reasons why people fall in love.”

“But this isn’t love. This is magic,” Cece said. “I don’t see how it’s any different from giving someone a love potion. You’re using your magic to make them fall in love with you.”

Elora thought it over for a few minutes. “I think the intent is what makes it different. You give someone a love potion because you want to manipulate them into falling in love with you even if they don’t want to. That’s a misuse of magic and just plain fucked up in general. But a witch or a warlock aren’t deliberately using magic with their conduit. It’s out of their control.”

“But the witch does have a choice. They could walk away from the conduit, give up that more powerful magic, and allow the conduit to live their life,” Cece said. “But everything I’ve read says that once a witch finds their conduit, that’s it. None of us are strong enough to resist the power we get from the conduit. So, the conduit,” she made finger quotes, “belongs to them for the rest of their life. And everyone says it’s all fine and good because the conduit is happy to fuck the witch for the taste of magic they get from it. But what if that person was meant to be with someone else, and they just had the dumb luck to touch the witch they were a conduit for?”

“You make a good point, but conduits are incredibly rare,” Elora said. “So, it’s not like there are a bunch of humans and paranormals out there attached to witches because they’re a conduit.”

“I know,” Cece said. “I don’t even know why I’m getting worked up about this. Only blood witches have conduits, not apprentice witches. It’s not like I’ll ever have to worry about it.”

Elora bonked her head gently against Cece’s shoulder. “Where are Kinsley and Maisey?”

“I sent them home,” she said.

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