Mollified Magic

Chapter 8: Tom learns about the coven and Coming of Age.

Note to readers: Thank you for your generous comments and ratings. This is my first attempt at creative writing and your feedback is greatly appreciated. I am especially grateful to Chris6160, whose editing skills and literary advice has been invaluable. He has helped me put more polish on my amateurish writing skills.

Warning: This chapter contains elements of incest.

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Morgana took her turn in the shower while Molly and I got dressed. We headed back downstairs into the kitchen just as her mother walked in.

"I'm sorry I was gone so long, that meeting took longer than I expected."

Tish placed her valise and a grocery bag on one of the counters.

"In addition to the usual coordination planning for Halloween and the parade, there were a lot of questions and debates about COVID and COVID precautions. I thought we would be done with that by now."

"No worries, Mom," Molly said, "We were fine, here. Tom got a chance to meet Morgana."

"Molly, dear, would you mind giving Agnes a hand at the store?" Tish asked, "The after-work crowd is starting to come in and I need to get supper started."

"Can't Morgana do that? Tom's my guest."

"You've had plenty of time with Tom all afternoon. Besides, you're sister's not here right now. When she comes down, I'll send her out to replace you."

"Fine," Molly conceded.

"Don't forget your gown!" Tish reminded.

"I won't!" Then, "Concealio!"

Molly's outfit suddenly changed to the same black gown with the black cat broach that he saw Agnes wear earlier. She gave me a peck on the cheek, before heading out the door.

"I'll see you soon."

Tish turned to me and smiled. "I hope Morgana didn't give you any trouble. She can be very protective of her sister."

"I found Morgana to be charming; you have two wonderful daughters, Mrs. um, Tish."

I winced inwardly to myself after realizing the double meaning of the word 'charming' in this setting.

"Why, thank you Tom."

Tish reached into the refrigerator to pull out a package of carrots.

"I hope you like Yankee pot roast. I thought I would make something special for dinner, we don't usually have guests, and this is a traditional New England dish."

"I love pot roast. Here, let me help you," I offered.

"No, you relax, you are our guest, after all."

"I used to help my mom in the kitchen before I went off to college," I explained, "You sound like you have a lot on your plate right now, and this is something I enjoy."

"All right then, you can start washing the carrots and cut them into 2-inch lengths, while I braise the meat," Tish replied.

She brought out a large, steel pot and placed it on the stove and let it warm up.

"I'm not sure you would have said that either of my daughters were that charming a few years ago. Those two used to compete with each other for everything," Tish said as she added a small amount of lard to the pot before putting the beef in, "I encouraged them to join the local swim club, hoping to channel some of that rivalry into something more productive."

"That seems to have worked out; Molly's the best free style swimmer at college."

"Not at first," Tish said, "You should have seen them, then. They each tried to outdo the other in the pool. Morgana had the advantage, of course, because she was older, but that didn't stop Molly. She was more determined than ever to beat her sister. At first, it looked harmless, but when they each began having a series of "accidents" and mishaps, I had to put my foot down."

"What kind of accidents?" I asked.

"Oh, little things," she continued, "The lane buoys would come undone in the middle of Morgana's swim, or another swimmer would veer into Molly's lane, stuff like that. But when the girls started having "wardrobe malfunctions" in the middle of a meet, I had enough."

I couldn't suppress a smile.

"What did you do?"

"Well, I limited their ability to do magic, of course," Tish said as she started chop the onions. (Were the tears in her eyes from the onions or from the retelling of the story?)

"That's when they decided to get serious about swimming," she continued, "Then, when they started winning medals for their efforts, things started to change between them. You should see some of the medals and trophies they won."

Tish paused. "Oh, but maybe you already have seen them."

"I have, they're quite impressive," I confessed, suspecting that Tish may have guessed about our afternoon activities.

Tish handed me a few potatoes and a peeler.

"You peel, I'll cut," she said.

"Doesn't pot roast take hours to cook?" I asked, "Oh, of course, you use magic."

Tish stopped and looked at me briefly before smiling.

"Yes, I use magic all right. I'll have to show you after we finish the potatoes. But what about you Tom? Where are you from?"

"I'm from a small town in upstate New York. My dad is a high school history teacher, and my mom is an English teacher at the same school. That's where they met. They are always reading, and I think that's why I like to read so much. I was lucky I did well in school and was able to win a scholarship and that's how I got into the same college as Molly."

"It isn't just luck that wins scholarships," Tish said, "it sounds like your love of reading paid off for you."

The potatoes were peeled and cut. Tish put them in the pot with the onions, carrots, and potatoes.

"Now, I'll show you the magic."

She reached into the cupboard and pulled out a heavy lid. She twisted it onto the pot. It was a pressure cooker!

"That should only take an hour," she said with a wide grin, "How magic is that!"

I laughed. "I think I've been duped."

Tish laughed with me.

"I think we all need to sit down over dinner and have a talk about things. It's clear, you don't understand much about the magic world. But now, let me go out and relieve Molly and close up the shop. The roast should be ready when I get back."

She turned towards the door.

"Concealio!"

Her outfit changed to the black gown and black cat broach, and she was out the door. Within minutes, Molly was back.

"Revealatia!"

Molly's outfit changed from the black gown back into her jeans and hoodie.

All four of us, Molly, me, Morgana, and Tish sat down for dinner an hour or so later. The pot roast was delicious. The conversation over dinner was light, mostly about how Molly and I met, our classes and our first date (well, just the Thai restaurant part). It wasn't until after dinner that things got more serious.

"Tom, there's a few things you should know about the magic world," Tish began, "Up until now, it all seems relatively tame to you, although I understand there was a mishap."

I was impressed with such a delicate reference to an otherwise awkward subject between a mother and a boy who's been fucking her daughter.

"But our world can often be a dark and dangerous place. There are a lot of reasons you don't see a lot of witches around. Aside from the obvious that we try to keep ourselves hidden, there aren't all that many of us out there."

"We witches can live to be 120 years old on average," added Morgana, "But only a few of us are allowed to have children."

"Or allowed to have our babies survive," Molly added.

"I don't understand," I said.

"It has to do with the Warlock Council," Tish explained. "Warlocks are the male equivalent of witches. Only the child of a warlock is allowed to survive. Any child from a witch with a non-magical father is killed. Sometimes the mother is killed as well."

"That's horrible!" I exclaimed.

"The Warlock Council also decides who can and can't get married," Tish continued, "We witches have the right to refuse marriage to a warlock we don't like, but that will often result in denying us the right to marry a warlock we want."

"Most of these warlocks can be arrogant assholes," Morgana added, "Their magical powers can be very intimidating. They especially like to try and humiliate us if we're not careful."

"I need to be very protective of my girls," Tish added, "especially before they reach their 'Coming of Age' after which they can better protect themselves."

"I've heard the term 'Coming of Age' a couple of times now. What is that?" I asked.

To my surprise, both Tish and Morgana turned and looked at Molly. Tish spoke next.

"Molly, you haven't told him?" Tish asked.

Molly looked embarrassed. "I'm sorry, I just never found the right time."

"Molly, I just assumed you were going to make him your transfer vessel," Morgana added.

"Well, I was, but, I -" Molly began.

"Molly, when were you going to tell him?" Tish asked.

"Could someone please tell me what's going on?" I asked, "Are you going to turn me into some kind of a cup or chalice or something?"

The three women all looked at me and started laughing.

When the laughter died down, Morgana spoke first. "Wow, you really don't know much about the magical world."

"Now, Morgana, I think we should let Molly explain it to him," Tish said before turning to Molly, "Right now."

Molly cleared her throat. She was blushing a little, which was rare for her in my experience. It was also kind of cute.

"Tom, the "Coming of Age" is the ceremony that witches go through when they turn 19. That's when they gain their full powers. We're born with some powers, of course, but those are rudimentary and mostly protective."

"Your mother mentioned something about taking away your magic when you were in swim club."

Tish intervened.

"We can increase the range of their powers or limit access to them, depending upon their behavior and how they use them. But we can't actually take them away. At least not by ourselves."

"Okay, but that doesn't tell me about this 'transfer vessel' thing."

Tish and Morgana suppressed smiles as they looked at Molly. Again, she blushed. She cleared her throat again before speaking.

"At the 'Coming of Age' ceremony, all the witches in the coven get together and give up some of their power to the birthday witch. But they need an intermediary to make that happen. That has to be a male, and it's always somebody from the non-magical community. The birthday witch is allowed to pick that male, but sometimes she can allow someone else, like a mother or grandmother to pick for her."

"The male is usually a boy around the same age as the birthday witch, but he has to be at least 18 years old," Molly continued, "The usual procedure is to put a spell on him or use a potion, so he doesn't know or doesn't remember anything that happens to him."

"We take him to our meeting grounds in the woods, where he is stripped of his clothing and placed spread eagle on the altar. Then, one by one, every witch gives him a little of her powers, starting with the oldest witch in the coven. Once the entire coven has done that, the birthday witch takes all the power from the male. That's why we refer to him as the 'transfer vessel'."

"What happens to the guy after that?" I asked.

"Nothing, really," said Molly, "We return him to his home, fully dressed. He either remembers nothing at all, or if we want, we can allow him to retain a little memory of the experience in the form of a wet dream."

"Wait a minute. Wet dream? How exactly does the magic power get transferred?" I asked.

Again, both Morgana and Tish smiled and looked at Molly. Again, Molly blushed a little and cleared her throat.

"They blow him."

"Come again?"

"That part comes later," Morgana said, giggling a little.

"Morgana!" admonished Tish, "Go ahead, Molly"

"After all the witches in the coven give the male a blow job, the birthday witch . . . um . . .sits on his . . . cock and . . . um . . . well she fucks him until he cums inside her. That's how she receives the collective power of the coven."

"Holy shit!" I blurted incautiously, and then looking at Tish, "Excuse me."

Tish laughed. "That's all right, dear. I can understand your reaction."

"As you're now already aware, witches tend to be a very sexual group of women," interjected Morgana, "When done right, there's a lot of magic generated sexually. It's one of the ways we can increase our powers."

"There are many other ways as well," added Tish, "But sex is definitely the most fun."

I turned to Molly. "So, you want me to be your transfer vessel?"

"I do, but not if you don't want to," she replied.

"Can I think about it?" I asked.

"Well, that's a first," Morgana said.

"Shut up, Morgana!"

"Molly's right, Morgana," added Tish, softly, "Tom is right to take his time before agreeing to have 77 witches give him fellatio in the open air, followed by a public display of sex with Molly. We need to give him some time and space before he decides."

"Did you say 77 witches?" I asked incredulously.

"Yes. Salem is the center of the largest coven in America. It includes witches from all over New England. Only in London can you find a larger coven."

"And a coven is?" I asked.

"That's our witch family community," Tish explained, "A coven usually has 13 witches or some multiple of 13. We lost a sister last year due to COVID, so when Molly joins us, we've be a multiple of 13 again."

"I'm sorry, Tom," Molly apologized, "I should have told you sooner,

and in a place more private

."

Molly spoke those last six words in a louder voice.

"Are there any other questions you have for us, Tom?" Tish asked. "There is so much more to tell, but it's already starting to get late, and I don't want to keep you up if you have a rowing event tomorrow."

"I need to be at the Northeastern boat house by 8 AM. But I don't know how I'm going to get there."

Morgana spoke up, smiling.

"We could take you by broom but flying brooms don't travel very fast and if you don't keep your mouth closed, you could end up with a lot of bugs in your teeth."

(Molly said the same thing a week ago, and I still wasn't sure flying brooms were a real thing or if she was also joking with me.)

"Morgana, couldn't you drive us there?" Molly asked.

"Of course, we can make a day of it," Morgana replied.

"Thanks, Morgana. You're the best sister I have."

Morgana laughed. "You're only saying that because I'm the only sister you have."

"Thanks, Morgana," I added, "You're the best sister I wish I had."

"Now that's sweet," Morgana said as she leaned over and kissed me on the cheek.

"Mom, I'm taking Tom to the park so we can talk in private for a while," Molly announced.

"Of course," Tish replied, "But don't stay out too late. Tom needs his rest for tomorrow. Also, you know you need to be careful, especially at this time of year."

"We will," said Molly as she took my hand and led me towards the back of the house.

There was a door near the back stairs with a keypad. Molly punched the number 3-9 into the pad and a green light came on. She then opened the door, and we stepped out into the back of the building. There was a small alley with a dumpster there. After the door closed behind me it disappeared. There was only the clapboard siding of the historic building.

"My mother designed that keypad. It checks to see if there is anyone in the alley before unlocking the door. That way, no one can see us leave the house from a door that was never there."

"That's pretty clever."

"My mother's been working on stuff like that. She wants to upgrade and add new spells to keep up with all the advances in the world today. All the old spells and potions still work, but with computers and the internet, there are so many more things we can do with magic if we adapt."

We took a short walk to a nearby park. We found a secluded bench and sat down, after checking to be sure there was no one else around.

"I wanted some time alone with you to apologize again. This 'Coming of Age' thing is a big deal for me, and I didn't want to scare you away," she said.

"Molly, I have to ask you something, but I'm afraid of what you're going to say."

"Just say it, Tom. I'm sure I deserve whatever it is you're going to tell me."

"No, it really is a question," I said, "Is this why you made love to me that first time? Is this why you've been seeing me for the past week? Were you just trying to prepare me to be your transfer vessel?"

"Oh my god, no!" she said, tears welling in her eyes, "I'm so sorry you think that."

She reached for my hand, I didn't offer it, but I let her take it.

"That first night was fun. I know we didn't know each other all that well, but there's something about you that attracts me to you. I can't explain it. I also felt something that night in the Thai restaurant when I first touched your arm."

I nodded. I remember feeling like there was something waking up inside me when that happened.

"I can't even tell you how much it meant to me to break your virgin cherry," Molly continued, "I was so honored to be that first person. I still feel that way. That night meant almost as much to me as I know it means to you. Nothing should ever take that away for you, or from either of us."

"Since then, we've both changed a lot. We've been inside each other's bodies. We can't get any closer or more personal than that. I wasn't trying to groom you into being a transfer vessel for me. I think maybe the opposite might be true. I think I've fallen for you. It's true, my 'Coming of Age' is very important to me, but with the way I feel about you now, I would never risk our relationship over whether or not you were my transfer vessel."

A tear ran down her face as she spoke.

"Do you remember on that first date that you told me you would rather be friends with me than lose your virginity? Well, that's how I feel about you as far as being my transfer vessel is concerned. I can always find some local around here to do that with. It's just that this is a once-in-a-lifetime event for me, and you are the most important person in my life right now."

I couldn't speak. Instead, I leaned over and wiped the tear before kissing her. She put her arms around my shoulders and hugged me while she kissed me back. I think I felt closer to Molly at that moment than I did when I was inside her body.

After we broke the kiss, I cleared my throat.

"Molly, you gave me two special gifts on that first date night when you made love to me. Helping me lose my virginity is something I will always be grateful for. But the gift I value the most is your friendship. Now that I understand how important your transfer vessel is to you, I would be honored to give my body to you for your 'Coming of Age' ceremony."

"Ooooo," she screeched, "You have made me so happy!"

And with that she kissed me again.

When we broke the kiss, I asked her, "By the way, when is your birthday?"

"It's on Halloween," she replied.

Walking back to the house, I remarked on the fact that Molly's birthday was on Halloween, just a week away.

"You know, your life seems like such a cliché," I remarked.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Think about it," I said, "You're a witch living in Salem, Massachusetts and you were born on Halloween. You can't get more classic than that. I mean, if you ever wrote a story about that, no one would believe it."

"Well, isn't that the point?" she aswered, "You didn't believe I was a witch, until I told you about the spell I put on your coach, even though you knew I was from Salem. What would you have thought then if I told you my birthday was on Halloween? Would you have been more likely or less likely to believe me?"

"Less likely," I admitted.

"The other thing you should remember is that my mother is a witch. That means she has the ability to adjust her menstrual cycle and her pregnancy to some extent to pick the day and hour of childbirth. Since Halloween is such a magical day for us, a lot of witches try to give birth on that day."