Mollified Magic

Chapter 15: Halloween Weekend in Salem

All characters are over the age of 18.

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We arrived in Salem a little after 6 PM. Morgana parked the car in the small space near the back alley of the house/store. The store was closed, and the lights were out, so we entered the small alleyway behind the house.

Morgana stood in front of the blank wall at the back of the house and chanted, "Revealatia!"

The back door appeared and the three of us went inside.

Morgana and Molly's mother Tish was in the kitchen stirring a large pot on the stove. The kitchen was filled with the delicious aroma of chicken, onions, carrots, and bell peppers.

"Welcome back!" Tish greeted her daughters with a big hug, "I trust you had a safe trip?"

"No problems at all," answered Morgana, "Samantha loved your gift for her, and she sends her thanks."

"It's good to see you again, Tom," Tish said as she gave me a hug.

"Thank you, Mrs., uh, I mean Tish."

"Why don't you all leave your stuff upstairs and I'll have supper ready when you come down," Tish suggested to the three of us, "Aunt Clara and Cousin Arthur will be here after supper, so I'm putting Tom in Molly's room, Clara in my study and Arthur will sleep in the living room. Molly, you and Morgana will have to sleep together in Morgana's room. Now go and wash up. Supper will be ready in 10 minutes."

Molly led me to her room upstairs and showed me where to put my backpack. After washing up and a few quick bathroom breaks, we went back down for delicious dinner of chicken and dumplings.

"Tom," Tish said, "I think this will be your first encounter with a warlock."

"Mom," Molly said, "Arthur is hardly a warlock. He hasn't yet Come of Age."

"You'd better not let your cousin hear you say that," Tish admonished, "You know how sensitive he is about that, and his powers are still stronger than yours."

"They won't be after Sunday night," Molly replied with a smile, "I'm not afraid of him."

"Be careful Molly," Morgana warned, "Warlocks aren't as forgiving as witches. If you piss Arthur off now, he may take revenge on you or do something to Tom later. Mom's right, Arthur will only be here for a couple of days. I think we can put up with him for that long."

"I think he's creepy," Molly said, "I caught him spying on me a couple of times. Once I found him in my room going through my underwear drawer."

"All the more reason you need to be careful, Molly," Tish warned, "You're going to be busy this weekend, so Arthur won't have time to do anything stupid with you. But that doesn't mean you should provoke him."

"Is there anything I should know about warlocks?" I asked.

"Warlocks are a lot like witches," Tish explained, "but they're much more powerful. There are four or five levels of warlock power, depending upon how you want to count them. All males born from warlock sperm are warlocks and have only rudimentary magical powers until they reach puberty. We consider that to be a first level."

"But even that early magic is as strong as a young witch before their 'Coming of Age'," Morgana explained.

"Once these adolescent warlocks reach puberty, their powers strengthen," Tish explained, "That's the second level. Arthur is at that stage, and he is already stronger than Molly, but not as strong as Morgana, who is a full witch after her 'Coming of Age'."

"And just like witches," Tish continued, "Warlocks undergo their own 'Coming of Age' when they turn 19, and like witches, that additional power needs to be ignited with magic. That's when they reach the third level of warlock power. But where witches require the entire coven to boost their magic, warlocks only need one full witch for their 'Coming of Age."

"Is the 'Coming of Age' process for warlocks anything like the ceremony for witches?" I asked.

Molly and Morgana looked at each other and smiled. Tish made an unsuccessful effort to suppress a smile before replying.

"Only the very last part," she replied, "a full-fledged witch needs to cum on the pubescent warlock's cock to ignite his full powers. She is called the 'empowering witch'. Depending upon the intensity of the orgasm, the witch's powers will be severely weakened, removed, or in some cases result in the witch's death."

"That sounds terrible!" I exclaimed, "is there any way that witch can have her powers restored?"

"Only one," Tish explained, "if that same warlock cums in her within 24 hours. Then at least some of her powers are restored, depending upon the intensity of his orgasm. However, if he cums during his 'Coming of Age' ceremony itself, then all of her power is restored and, in some cases, boosted."

"It sounds like witches take a lot of risk when warlocks come of age," I noted.

"That all depends upon the warlock," Tish replied, "often the parents get involved to make sure that the warlock doesn't hurt his empowering witch or weaken her powers too badly. But not all warlocks and families of warlocks are so considerate."

"Is there anything else I should know about warlocks?" I asked, "Where does the Warlock Council fit in?"

"Oh yeah, the Council," sighed Tish, rolling her eyes a bit, "if a full warlock is chosen to be on the Warlock Council, he obtains an orbed staff and additional magical powers related to that staff. That represents the fourth stage of warlock power.

"I take it there's a higher stage?" I asked.

Tish's facial expression changed to one of concern.

"There is now," Tish said sadly, "The head of the Warlock Council has attained great magical powers that enables him to control all other warlocks and witches. His power puts him at a higher level or fifth level.

"Mother, can we please not talk about this?" Morgana pleaded.

"Morgana," Tish spoke in a concerned voice, "I'm sorry. But with Molly's 'Coming of Age' only two days away, it's only fair to her to let her know what's happening."

"What's going on?" Molly asked, "What doesn't Morgana want me to know?"

"Blaze, who now calls himself "Lord Blaze," the Head of the Warlock Council wants to marry Morgana," Tish said.

Morgana hid her head in her hands and Tish's eyes were moist.

"No!" Molly sobbed, "He can't do that!"

"I don't understand," I said, "Wouldn't that make Morgana powerful as well? Wouldn't she be the Queen or Lady of the Warlock Council or something?"

"No Ward," Molly explained, "He is a horrible, wicked man. He has killed three of his wives and a fourth wife died mysteriously almost 20 years ago."

"Can't Morgana refuse to marry him?" I asked.

"Lord Blaze always gets what he wants," Tish explained, "He could compel her, or more likely kill her if she doesn't agree. We are lucky that Morgana's father convinced him to wait until Molly completes her Coming of Age ceremony."

"But why Morgana?" I asked, "Certainly, there are plenty of other witches out there for him to choose from."

"It's because of grandmother," Morgana spoke slowly, "She is the head of the Salem Coven. The coven is the only group powerful enough to resist him. By marrying me, he can threaten to maim or kill me if grandmother doesn't agree to his demands. It's a form of blackmail."

"I'm so sorry, Morgana," I said.

"Well, now that we've ruined a perfectly good meal," Tish said, "Let me remind you three that there is to be no sex or fooling around while your aunt and cousin are here. I'm sorry to say this to you Tom, but they look down upon non-magical people, and I'm lucky they even tolerate you staying here this weekend."

"I will stay out of their way as much as possible," I promised.

"Is there anything we could do to protect Tom?" Molly asked.

"We can try a charm pendant," Tish suggested, "But I'm not sure what your father will say about that once he sees it. And that is to say nothing about Aunt Clara and your cousin Arthur."

"Oooh! I almost forgot about Daddy!" Molly said excitedly, "When is he coming?"

"He should be here tomorrow evening," Tish responded, "We need to go clothes shopping for your birthday outfits and get your final fitting for your 'Coming of Age' gown in the morning."

"Can Tom come along while I try on outfits?" Molly asked.

"That might be a problem," Tish said, "He won't be allowed into any of the measuring and fitting areas, especially in Sarah Williams' shop for your gown. She'll only allow witches in there."

"I could show him around Salem," Morgana volunteered, "We can visit the touristy places and I can tell him what really happened at the witch trials."

"I'm sure Tom would enjoy that," Tish said, "But I'm afraid I'll need you here at the store. This is our busiest weekend and Agnes won't be able to manage the store alone while I'm busy with your sister."

"Maybe I can help Agnes and Morgana in the store," I suggested, "You could show me what I need to do, and I can lend a hand."

"That's terribly kind of you to offer, Tom," Tish said, "But you're our guest here and I'd hate to have to put you to work."

"You want me to treat you as a friend, Tish," I said, emphasizing her name, "That's what friends are for. Besides, you, Molly and Morgana have treated me like family. Very close family at that."

The three women smiled at that.

"All right, Tom," Tish agreed, "You can help Agnes and Morgana in the store tomorrow morning and spend some time with Molly in the afternoon when we get back. We can show you what you need to know and work on your disguise in the morning."

After supper, Molly, Morgana, and I went upstairs to the living room to talk, while Tish cleaned up the kitchen.

"Morgana, do you want to talk about your situation with the warlocks? With Lord Blaze?" Molly asked.

"No," Morgana replied. "It will only bring back nightmares."

Morgana started to sob.

"I'm sorry, Morgana, I didn't mean to reawaken bad memories," Molly said sadly while putting her arm around her sister.

"Can't your father do more to help you, Morgana?" I asked.

"Not really," Morgana replied, "He negotiated the postponement of the wedding until after Molly's 'coming of Age' ceremony."

"Why didn't he just forbid the marriage?" I asked, "Shouldn't he be looking out for your best interest?"

"You don't understand," sobbed Morgana, "There is nothing else he could have done. Lord Blaze is so powerful; he could have taken away all of Daddy's magical powers or incinerated him. By giving in, Daddy earned a higher rank in the Warlock's Council."

"The Warlock Council is politically tricky," Molly explained, "Daddy needs to play along to keep his position or to gain power. He's not evil, he really is one of the better warlocks."

"Are you talking about me? One of the better warlocks?" a male voice spoke as the stairway door opened.

In stepped a well-dressed, pudgy-looking boy of average height who looked to be in his late teens. There were two small "nubs" of maybe an inch in height protruding from either side of his forehead, that is, if something so small could be consider protruding.

"Hello Arthur," Morgana and Molly both said flatly.

"It's so nice to see my beautiful cousins again," he said, "especially my cute little sweetheart, Molly." He reached out his hand to touch Molly's chin. She backed off and moved his hand away.

"I am not your sweetheart," Molly insisted.

Arthur turned towards me. "Oh," he said, "this must be that, that non-magical your mother was talking about."

I stepped forward, holding out my hand to shake his. "Hi, I'm Tom Ward."

Arthur ignored my proffered hand and turned to Molly. "You like this guy?" He said, "Why, he's nothing but a pumpkin head."

In the blink of an eye, Arthur whipped out his wand and pointed it at me.

"Pepo-onis, Capit, Commutare!"

Suddenly my vision was reduced to two large triangles. The room and everything in it took on an orange tinge.

"What happened?" I asked, but my voice seemed to come from far away, as if I were in a box of some sort. I put my hands near my head, but they seemed to be blocked by a large spherical object in the way. It felt like that object was a part of my head.

"Arthur!" Molly screamed, "Change him back!" Molly's scream seemed to come from far away, even though I could see her right beside me.

"I think he looks more fitting this way, don't you, sweetheart?" I heard Arthur laugh distantly.

Morgana pulled out her wand and pointed it at me. "Contrari-otum Commutare!" she said in a distant voice.

My hearing and vision returned to normal.

Morgana pointed her wand at Arthur.

"You do that again, and you won't like what I'm going to do to you!" she said angrily to Arthur.

"You don't scare me, Morgana," Arthur said arrogantly, now pointing his wand at Morgana. "Just wait until I tell your future husband that you threatened a warlock."

"I don't see any true warlocks here," Molly taunted, "Do you, Morgana?"

"Children!" Tish shouted coming through the stairway door, "Put those wands away! Whatever has gotten into you?"

"Morgana!" screamed an older woman entering the room behind Tish, "How dare you threaten my little boy."

"I'm sorry, Aunt Clara," said Morgana, while lowering her wand.

Arthur still had his wand raised and pointed at Morgana.

"Arthur turned Tom's head into a pumpkin!" Molly protested to the two older women.

"Is that true?" asked Tish.

"It was just a joke," replied Arthur.

Aunt Clara broke into a smile. "See, your daughter overreacted, Morticia."

Tish gave Aunt Clara a stern look.

"Tom is a guest in my house," she said, "and he deserves to be treated with respect. I don't want any more of these 'jokes' or other pranks against Tom or anyone else in this house. Is that understood?"

"Morticia, I don't know what you're getting so upset about," Clara began, "He's only a non—"

"Is that understood?" Tish repeated looking at Arthur.

Arthur looked at the floor.

"Yes, Aunt Morticia," he said.

"Good!" replied Tish, "And for the record, Clara, this is Tom Ward, Molly's boyfriend and he has agreed to be her transfer vessel for her 'Coming of Age' ceremony."

"Nice to meet you, Aunt Clara," I said, offering my hand in a handshake.

"I am not your aunt," she said haughtily, "And you can call me Mrs. Scornfield."

She refused the handshake. I put down my arm. "Nice to meet you Mrs. Scornfield."

"Hmmpf!" was her response.

"If you'll excuse me," I said, "I have some things I need to do in my room."

I walked down the hall towards Molly's room.

"Wait, Tom!" Molly called.

"Let him go," Tish said, "We have a few things the four of us need to discuss. You can catch up with him later."

I entered Molly's room and closed the door. I was both angry and afraid. Part of me wanted to punch Arthur's pudgy, arrogant face. The other part wanted to run and hide. This was going to be a long weekend.

After a few minutes, I looked around the room for things to do. I was first drawn to the numerous trophies and medals that Molly won in high school and swim club. They were impressive. Most of the earlier awards were for second place with two first place and one third place medal. But the last two years were all first-place medals and trophies. I presumed that was when Morgana had graduated out of high school and no longer competed with Molly.

After that, I looked over the numerous books on her bookshelves. There were the usual classics, the complete Harry Potter series, and several mystery and romance novels. But there were many books about magical spells, potions, and incantations. I picked up one out of curiosity and started reading. It was a book of beginner spells written by Morag Spellman. The author had to have been a relative of Molly's. Inside the cover was an inscription: "To my beautiful daughter Morina. May this book help you to become a great witch someday. Love, Mommy."

Morina. Wasn't that the name of Molly's grandmother? I'll have to ask Molly about that. If so, that would make Morag her great grandmother.

There were all sorts of spells in the book. It was organized like a combination dictionary and cookbook. The first section as "Common Household Spells" and included the "Scourgify" spell that I saw Molly and Tish use to clean clothes, bedding, and dishes. It even gave pointers on how to hold the wand and where to emphasize the right syllables to get the best effect. Other spells included picking up toys or removing spills. I found the spell Molly used to clear the air of unwanted odors. Apparently, most witches used that spell to disguise or remove odors after brewing a potion.

There were sections on enhancing skills like artwork, needlecraft, and muscle memory for repetitive physical activity. Maybe Molly used that to help her train for swimming.

I was particularly interested in the section on basic defensive spells. I noted with amusement the several spells under the heading of "Wards." These were spells that could be used to protect oneself, others, or even valued objects. I had been reading for over an hour when Molly came into the room.

"I'm so sorry about Arthur," was the first thing Molly said to me, "he is such a selfish, arrogant, asshole!"

"Did he really turn my head into a pumpkin?" I asked.

She looked down at her shoes and nodded her head.

"Looks like I need to keep my distance from him," I said, "But it looks like your Aunt Clara isn't too fond of me, either."

"They're from my father's side of the family," Molly explained, "Aunt Clara has always been overly protective of Arthur, which may explain why he is such an immature, self-righteous asshole."

"Why are they so hostile towards me?" I asked.

"That may be because of me," Molly explained, "The magical world is very protective of itself and its secrets. There are very few examples of non-magical people invited into our secret world. You are a rare exception. Arthur and Aunt Clara's reactions are the norm. You saw how my sister behaved when she first met you."

"Molly, why did you reveal your secret to me?" I asked, "I know you said you thought it would be the best way to teach me how to be a good sex partner for you, but why did you take such a big risk for both of us with the magical community?

Molly held my hands and looked me in the eyes.

"There are two reasons I did that," she said, "One reason is that when I asked my grandmother about your request, she suggested to me that I should. She said she would help me clear it with the coven and the rest of the magical community."

"And the other reason?" I asked.

"I'm not sure I understand the other reason," Molly said, "But there's something different about you. I couldn't identify it then and I still can't identify it now, but I feel myself drawn to you. I don't want to scare you off by saying it's love or anything like that, but maybe it is. I feel that maybe you might be my soul mate if that is really a thing."

"It's funny you should say that, because I've been feeling the same way," I replied, "It's like you've always been a part of my life, but I never knew it until I met you. I don't know if either one of us is ready for a commitment, but I feel we've been connected somehow.

"The idea of a commitment with you doesn't scare me at all," she said, "It sounds nice. But that doesn't mean we need to make plans or anything now. Can we keep things the way they are for now and see how this goes? After all, we haven't known each other very long; who knows what dark secrets of yours I have yet to discover? Like leaving the toilet seat up."

She laughed when she said that.

"I remember you were guilty of that once when we switched bodies!" I laughed.

"I have a confession to make," Molly said, "I did it on purpose, just to see what you'd say."

We both laughed over that.

"Molly, why did your Aunt Clara call your mother "Morticia'?" I asked.