Chapter 17: Halloween Morning Inside the Warlock Mansion
A large red flame appeared outside the coven circle. A tall male figure clothed in a finely tailored suit stepped out of the flame and looked at me. He had two great horns, 8 inches in length, curling out of each side of his forehead. His right hand held a six-foot golden staff topped with a glowing red orb about the size of a soccer ball. The orb was held in place by a claw made of bone that looked like fingers. He spoke in a deep voice.
"Thermos my son. I am your father."
The witches fell back, away from the warlock. Morina stepped forward. Her wand was raised.
"Lord Blaze," she said, "You have no business here. This is our coven's right to assemble at this witching hour."
"Then I will take what belongs to me and leave," he said.
He raised his staff and pointed it into the crowd of witches. One witch rose in the air and was pulled towards the staff.
"No, please let me go!" she cried. It was Morgana.
"Leave her be, Blaze," Morina called, omitting the self-endowed title of 'Lord', "She is a part of the coven and belongs at our assembly."
As Morgana was being pulled towards the warlock, I looked around. My naked skin was still red hot and glowing. I spotted my clothes on the ground near my feet and remembered Arthur's wand stuck in the pocket. I reached down to pick up my jeans, but the material burst into flames when I touched it. The wand, however, was unaffected; not even singed. I picked it up and noticed it no longer vibrated in my hand.
By now, Morgana had crossed over the coven circle and was standing at Lord Blaze's side, weeping; held fast by his free arm around her waist.
"She is mine, now," Lord Blaze retorted, "and I will decide where she should be." He looked at me. "Come, Thermos, and we will depart."
"No!" I said, raising Arthur's wand, "Morgana stays here with her coven."
He pointed his staff at me.
"You dare to defy your father?" he said in a booming voice.
I waved the wand in a wide circular motion in front of me.
"Quantum Ward-Guardian!"
A bright white light shot out of the tip of the wand and illuminated the protective coven circle, reinforcing it. It was one of the spells I read from the books in Molly's bookcase.
The warlock laughed.
"I like your spirit," Lord Blaze said, "That is a gesture worthy of my seed. I doubt there is any warlock on the Council who would dare to do that to me. I have no desire to harm you, but I must be obeyed. What do you propose we do?"
Again, I looked around. Molly was still at my feet, hidden from Lord Blaze's sight by the altar. She was just starting to stir, and it wouldn't be long before he became aware of her presence. Perhaps the barrier I put up would not be enough to keep him out or to keep him from taking Molly, too. Then, of course, he still had Morgana and I could not predict what he would do with her.
"I'll go," I said, "but only if you release Morgana. I will go with you freely if you let her go and allow her to stay with the coven. You can take her at another time without interfering with coven activities."
He hesitated and then lowered his staff, releasing Morgana from his grip.
"I will take your bargain," he said, "She may go for now, but not for long."
Morgana started walking back towards the coven. I waited until after she passed through the protective wall before I joined the warlock who claimed to be my father. I felt sick to my stomach. I finally understood why I was terrified by the ending of "The Empire Strikes Back." I was Lord Blaze's "Luke."
It wasn't until I stood face to face with the feared warlock that I found we were the same height. His teeth flashed as he smiled at me. Then he put his arm around my shoulder, still red hot and glowing, but his clothes showed no sign of being affected by my radiant skin. He raised his staff and red flames engulfed us as the coven clearing disappeared.
The sound of a gong was heard when we materialized in a large foyer in what looked like an enormous mansion, or possibly a museum. There was a grand marble staircase in front of me and double doors on either side each made of a dark, polished wood, possibly walnut or mahogany. A large ornate chandelier above me illuminated the room. The floor was made of polished marble with a pentagram design in red with a flame design ornately inlaid at its center where we materialized.
There was a crowd of people standing with bowed heads before us, headed by an elderly bald man wearing what looked to me like a butler's attire. He was the only person clothed as the men and women behind him were completely naked, except for red collars around their necks.
There were a lot more women than men in that crowd. All of them seemed to be around my age or slightly older and all of them were beautiful, even the men. Judging from their skin color, they appeared to be of various ethnic origins from all over the world. The women all had large breasts, some grotesquely so. The men were very muscular, with attractive features with the exception of their very small penises.
"What is this place?" I asked.
Lord Blaze was smiling. "Welcome home, son. We have much to discuss."
He began to lead me towards the double doors on the left but stopped before he opened them. He looked me up and down with a discerning eye.
"Perhaps you should change into a less incendiary form," he said, "think of how you would feel if you dove into a cool mountain stream."
I envisioned the scene as he suggested, and my skin changed from glowing red embers to my normal flesh. But without the fiery appearance, I suddenly felt self-conscious about being naked in this great hall in front of all these people. Lord Blaze saw my unease.
"Nigel, bring master Thermos some clothes and a robe to the study," the powerful warlock said, "the rest of you, go back to your stations and stay there until needed."
The naked men and women bowed and quickly backed away into the recesses. The butler bowed deeply and in a British accent replied quietly.
"Yes, sir. Does master Thermos have any preference?"
"Just a pair of jeans, boxers and a tee," I answered, "My sizes are -"
"That won't be necessary," Lord Blaze interrupted, "he already knows."
The double doors to the study slid noiselessly and magically apart as Lord Blaze approached them. Inside, the study smelled of fine leather and tobacco leaf. There were tall bookcases lined with leather-bound books with gold lettering. An enormous desk occupied the side of the room closest to the huge windows. A large oriental rug carpeted the wood floor. There were two large, comfortable looking, leather chairs in front of the desk and a leather sofa facing the bookcases on the other side of the room.
Lord Blaze sat in the chair furthest from the double doors and motioned for me to sit in the other chair. The leather felt cool against my naked backside.
He leaned his staff against the desk within arm's reach from his chair. He reached inside a wooden box on his desk and pulled out two cigars.
"Cigar?" he asked.
"I don't smoke," I replied, and then recalling my fiery skin, "cigars."
Lord Blaze chuckled, catching my meaning. He put one cigar back and lit the other one with his index finger. He bit off the draw end of the cigar and spit out the tip. It never reached the floor as it burst into flames after leaving his mouth.
He inhaled deeply from the cigar and blew out a cloud of smoke.
"I'm sure you have a lot of questions for me," he said, coolly, "You may ask me anything."
I didn't know where to begin, but I thought I might ask why I was only meeting him now for the first time. "If you're my father, then why was I raised by the Wards?"
"As I was acquiring my power on the Warlock Council," he began, "I accumulated quite a few adversaries, some of whom I thought were my allies."
"By that time, I already held the Golden Staff," he nodded towards the staff leaning against the desk, "but I was soon to discover that was not enough to secure me from my enemies. I had a wife and child and found out too late I couldn't protect them."
He pointed his cigar at me on the word "child."
"When they killed your mother, I had to find a way of hiding you. So, I faked your death and sent you to live with a non-magical couple that no one could connect with me. I placed a spell on you that would hibernate your powers until you reached your 'Coming of Age,' when you could better protect yourself. The last name of 'Ward' was an added security benefit as it would reinforce my spell every time the name was mentioned."
"So, I'm a warlock?" I asked.
Lord Blaze looked at me and motioned to the horns on his forehead with his cigar. Catching his meaning I slowly raised my hand to my forehead, dreading what I would find. My fingers touched what felt like bone. I felt a slight pressure where the horn was attached to my forehead when my fingers touched the bone. I continued to feel the horn curve upwards. It kept going, possibly six inches long. That explained the headaches I was getting during the Coming-of-Age ceremony.
"How can I walk out in public with these things?" I asked.
"I think they look good on you," he said, "they really set off your looks."
"But I don't want them," I said, "How do I make them go away?"
"Just pull them in," he said. "But you had better get used to them. You'll definitely need them on display when I introduce you to the Warlock Council."
I imagined the horns retracting into my head. There was a brief throbbing sensation which quickly disappeared. When I felt with my hand, the horns were gone.
"But I thought warlocks came of age on their birthdays. My birthday was on July 31
st
.
"No," he corrected, "You were born 19 years ago today. The child I took from the Wards was born on July 31
st
. That was the child whose remains were found with your dead mother. I substituted you for the child I took, using a spell on them to accept you as their own. The deception of your birthday was another way of protecting your identity from the magical community. You came of age at the same time as that girl, Molly."
