Reader's Advisory: This chapter contains a non-consensual sex scene.
Chapter 16: Molly's Coming-of-Age Ceremony
Molly and Morgan's warlock father Adrian entered the room.
"I wanted a chance to talk with you three," he said in a quiet voice.
He pointed his staff at the chair in front of Morgana's desk. The chair slid on its own towards the bed and he sat down in it when it had stopped. His deep blue eyes scanned our faces one at a time as if he were searching for something, but it wasn't clear whether that something was in our eyes or in his. His gazed finally rested on Molly.
"You are, no doubt, aware of what is happening to Morgana?" he asked.
"Mother told us that Lord Blaze wants to marry her," Molly said.
"Are you aware of any of the details about how he announced that?" Adrian asked.
I looked over at Morgana, who turned her head away from her father and looked down at the floor. I thought I heard a quiet sob.
"Lord Blaze showed up here in mid-September one weekend, while Morgana was visiting from college," he began, "She was out on a date with her boyfriend Damian."
Morgana's sobs became more audible. Her father looked at her.
"Do you want to tell them or should I?" the warlock asked his daughter.
Morgana wiped her tears with her hands and turned her head back. She looked at the bed in front of her as she spoke.
"He appeared suddenly and out of nowhere," Morgana recalled, "he pointed his staff at Damian and immobilized him. I saw the fear in Damian's eyes as Lord Blaze suspended him in the air and held him there with his staff. But he never took his eyes off of me."
Tears ran down Morgana's cheeks as she spoke. Her father wiped them with a tissue that magically appeared in his hands. He handed her the tissue when as she continued.
"He told me I was going to be his bride, just like that. No choice or option, just his announcement," she recalled, "It all happened so fast; I didn't know what to do. I looked up at Damian who looked so helpless and afraid."
Morgana looked up at Molly and me. She looked miserable.
"That's when Damian burst into flames," Morgana said sadly, "He couldn't even scream, but the look in his eyes . . . I still have nightmares about those eyes. They were filled with terror and pain before the flames engulfed him . . . He was burned alive . . . It was horrible."
Morgana stared at the floor, sniffling. We all just sat there in silence, watching her. Finally, she wiped her nose with the back of her hand before realizing she still had the tissue in her other hand.
"After that," Morgana continued, "Lord Blaze repeated 'you
will
be my bride' and he left. Later, he appeared to Daddy to negotiate the terms for the marriage. Daddy was able to negotiate a postponement until after Molly's Coming of Age ceremony."
"My god," I said quietly.
"Why are you having her tell us this?" Molly asked her father.
"Because I don't want to see that happen to the two of you," he said, "Your mother told me a little about what's been going on here. And I can see how the two of you feel about each other. I would hate to see that happen to you as well. Lord Blaze is the most powerful warlock that has ever lived. He uses his power and his cruelty to keep warlocks and witches alike in line to get what he wants. I don't want either of you to become his next victims."
"Isn't there anything you can do to stop him?" I asked, "Can't the warlocks and the coven work together to do something?"
"You really know nothing about the magical world, do you?" Adrian said, looking at me. His deep blue eyes seemed to look right through me. "He wields the power of the Golden Staff. As long as he holds that staff, he is untouchable."
"Can't you just take it away from him, maybe when he's sleeping?" I asked.
Adrian sighed. "The staff is not just an object. It has a magical connection to its owner. It can't be separated by force or theft. It can only be transferred from one warlock to another. Witches can't wield warlock staffs, especially the Golden Staff. If Morgana becomes -
when
Morgana becomes his bride, she couldn't steal or wield its power if she wanted to. He might even have her hold it for him just to taunt her. The only way Lord Blaze could lose that staff is if he gave it away to another warlock. I don't foresee him doing that, do you?"
"No," I said sadly, "then what are you suggesting?"
"After the Coming-of-Age ceremony, I want the two of you to stop seeing each other," he said.
"No, Daddy!" Molly pleaded, "We can't. I - I love him."
The warlock looked at me.
"If you truly love my daughter," he said, "you will leave her after the ceremony. That would be the only way you could save her and save yourself."
Adrian stood up.
"This is the only warning I can give you," he said, "If Lord Blaze can do what he did to the Mather family, he will most certainly do the same if not worse to the Spellmans."
He closed the door behind him when he left.
"What did your father mean about the Mather family?" I asked.
Morgana looked at me. "Damian was a warlock from the powerful Mather family. His father sits on the Warlock Council and holds the Staff of Corruption. If Lord Blaze can kill the son of a Council member, he could do the same or worse to us."
"Mather," I said, "Why does that name sound so familiar?"
"Because they are the descendants of Cotton Mather from the Salem witch trials," reminded Molly.
"But wasn't he the one that conducted the witch trials and condemned the witches to death?" I asked.
"You only know the distorted human version of the witch trials," Morgana explained, "The true history is a little different. Back in the 1600's, there were a couple of actual witches put to death, Rebecca Nurse and Sarah Good, but most of the condemned souls were non-magicals."
"Of the three witches that died, two of them, Sarah and Rebecca, were sentenced to death by the joint declaration of the Coven and Warlock Councils for revealing secrets about the magical world to non-magicals." Molly explained, "The witch trials were a public warning to all witches and warlocks to keep our activities secret."
"Who was the third witch?" I asked.
"That was little Mercy Good," Morgana explained, "She was only 4 years old when she died in prison. Cotton Mather was the warlock who presided over the trials to make sure that both Sarah and Rebecca were condemned to death. Little Mercy was condemned as a further example about how far the Council would go to enforce their laws."
"Then what's to stop the Council from condemning you and me for revealing the world of magic to me?" I asked.
"That's unlikely to happen," Molly said, "I checked with Grandmother before I revealed myself to you. Grandmother is the head of the Coven, and it was her recommendation that I tell you. Sarah Good and Rebecca Nurse revealed witchcraft
against
the Coven's wishes."