Mollified Magic Ch. 17

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."

I heard someone clearing his throat outside the door.

"You may enter, Nigel," Blaze said.

The butler came in with clothes draped over his arm. I stood up to take them, but he proceeded to kneel before me, holding my boxers open for me to step into. I grabbed the boxers from him.

"I can dress myself."

Nigel looked at Lord Blaze. Lord Blaze chuckled.

"Leave the clothes," he said to Nigel.

"I brought the young master a pair of slippers as well, sir," Nigel intoned flatly.

"Very well," Lord Blaze responded, "You may leave."

I quickly dressed. The boxers, jeans and tee shirt all fit perfectly. There was also a short jacket included with the clothes. I held it up and looked at Lord Blaze.

"It's a smoking jacket," he said, "Try it on."

I put it on and tied the cloth belt that went with it. It was soft and comfortable and a perfect fit. I enjoyed wearing it for the comfortable way it felt as well as for the novelty of it. I slipped my feet into the plush, heelless slippers. They were quite cozy.

"But if today is my 19^th birthday, how did you know that I would find a witch to ignite my powers?"

"I didn't," he said, "that was a stroke of luck. It was my intention to take Morgana and use her to ignite your powers. You can imagine my surprise to find you at the Coven Council with your powers fully functional."

"What can you tell me about that?" I asked, "Why did my skin get so hot?"

He chuckled, "You inherited the ability to control fire from me; I am the warlock of fire. When you came of age and gained your full powers, that ability manifested itself with your fiery skin."

"So, I'm also a warlock of fire?" I asked, "What does that mean?"

"It means you can control and shape fire to your will," he began, "Fire and heat will not harm you; you can never get burned, and you can make your skin fiery hot with just a thought. That's why your skin was glowing like embers after you gained your full powers as a warlock."

"But the altar got hot, too," I noted, "Why did that happen?"

"Hm," he contemplated before answering, "the only way that altar could have been heated is if you energized it."

"But that was before I gained my powers," I said, "in fact, it happened just as the ceremony started."

"You must have had some magical power before the ceremony started," he said more to himself.

He looked over at the great bookshelf on the other side of the room and pointed his finger. One of the books left its position and levitated towards him, resting in his outstretched hand. He leafed through the book until he found the page he wanted. His eyes scanned the page for several minutes.

He said something under his breath that sounded like "harmonic twinning," but it was said so softly, I really couldn't be certain. However, it was then that he took another puff on his cigar and blew out a puff of smoke that formed two smoke rings. The rings interlocked before dissipating.

"Did you notice anything else unusual?" He asked me.

"Anything unusual?" I asked incredulously, "everything was unusual. Even the older witches seemed surprised when they mounted the altar."

Lord Blaze leaned in. "Why?" He asked, "what happened?"

"They changed," I answered, "they all appeared to look younger, like they were in their early twenties."

"Do you remember what you were thinking before that happened?" He asked.

I paused while Lord Blaze took another pull on his cigar. This time he blew a puff of smoke in the outline of a young woman in a seductive pose.

"I remember wondering what those old witches looked like when they were Molly's age," I answered.

He had a twinkle in his eyes as he looked at me and chuckled.

"Who was my mother and how did she die?" I asked.

"Your mother was a beautiful witch. Her name was Amanda Brewster. Your face reminds me of her, especially your blue eyes," Blaze seemed to lose focus as he recalled the memory, "I was tending to a flash flood that threatened to destroy one of my mansions. The flood turned out to be a decoy, of course, created by the Warlock of Water. When I raced back to your mother, I was too late to save her from the sudden microburst that struck the house. The only reason I was able to rescue you was because she died while trying to protect you."

He blew out a puff of smoke that looked like a woman's face. It was a beautiful face that slowly vanished as the smoke dissipated.

"Are you saying that Molly's father was part of a plot that killed my mother?" I asked.

He laughed, but this laugh has a sinister tone to it. "Adrian, 'Molly's father' as you put it, was not the Warlock of Water at the time. That particular individual was . . . 'vaporized' you might say. Adrian became the Warlock of Water much later."

"The Warlock of Air created the microburst that killed your mother," he continued, "I did a 'Hindenburg' on him," Lord Blaze said calmly.

To illustrate his point, he took another drag on his cigar and blew out a puff of smoke that looked like a zeppelin, which subsequently burst into flames.

"If I'm a warlock of fire, should I be afraid of water?" I asked.

"Hardly," he replied, "Drinking and bathing is fine, although if you ignite your skin while doing it, you will quickly turn it into steam. Swimming may tire you faster than usual and I would advise you not to dive into deep water in your ignited state."

"Can we talk about Morgana and the Coven Council?"

"Are you sure you want to discuss politics and other unpleasantries now?"

"I've gotten to know the Spellmans," I said, "They have treated me with nothing but kindness. Taking Morgana away from her family would be a tragedy for them and a disservice to me."

Lord Blaze inhaled deeply on his cigar. He blew out several rings of smoke that seemed to link in a form of a chain before answering.

"Their grandmother is head of the coven and with her granddaughter, I can control the coven through her. That will further consolidate my power and will protect you as well. The witches have not always been cooperative with warlocks, such as with providing witches for our warlock Coming-of-Age ceremonies. That is one of the reasons we need to assert more control over them."

"But the Spellmans are my friends," I pleaded, "Isn't there another way we can get the witches to work with us? Isn't it in everyone's best interest?"

"You are talking nonsense to me, now," he said, "I don't trust the witches, and neither should you. If you want power and wish to stay alive, you should trust no one."

"Have you no friends?" I asked, "Isn't there anyone you can trust?"

"That's correct, I have no friends," Lord Blaze said, "and neither do you. As my son, you are a vulnerable target; a way my enemies can get to me through you. Your naivete is both careless and foolish. Any help you've received has been because they did not know who you are. Now that they know, they will exploit you to get to me. You are young, but you will learn not to trust anyone, or you will die."

"You will live here with me, and I can protect you and teach you how to control others," he continued, smiling, "You are my legacy and will help me build a family dynasty."

This was a lot to take in. Up until now, I thought being magical was fun and empowering. Making potions, changing appearances, switching bodies and hidden doorways were things I could admire and enjoy. But Lord Blaze was showing me that he lives in a self-made prison of sorts, sacrificing friends and family in his quest to gain and hold onto power.

As his son, I stand to gain much of that power, but does it mean I have to give up everything I've ever known and lived for?

"Will I be allowed to go back to college and complete my studies?" I asked.

"There is no need for that," he said, "It puts your life in danger, and I can teach you more here than you'll ever learn at a non-magical place like college."

I saw a future of loneliness and isolation. How long would it be before I became like him, paranoid and vengeful, distrustful of everything I can't control. Maybe I was being too cynical. Perhaps I was being too quick to judge him. After all, it didn't look like I was going to have a choice about my future.

It occurred to me that I needed a little more time to adjust to this new reality. I needed to find a way to get away to think and consider my options, if I had any. I chose my next words carefully.

"Father," I said, using that name in front of him for the first time, "I appreciate your protection and understand your concerns. But you took great risks to be where you are today. If you expect me to be worthy of your legacy, then I must be willing to take risks as well."

He had smiled when I said the word "father."

"Let me go back for a few weeks to wrap things up and say goodbye to my friends and professors," I continued, "I can tell them I'm starting a business or going on an adventure to find myself or something like that. Otherwise, my sudden disappearance would invite too many questions."

He took another drag on his cigar and blew out another puff of smoke. The smoke swirled around until it briefly formed what looked like the crook of a question mark before dissipating.

"Go on," he said.

"I admit that being away for one or two weeks is not that great a risk," I continued, "But it would be a good way of seeing who on the Warlock Council might want to plot against you through me. I could be the bait for a trap or the preliminaries of a trap that you could set against them."

Lord Blaze took another deep puff on his cigar. He blew out smoke in the shape of a skull.

"Your willingness to prove yourself pleases me greatly," he said slowly, "You also display a certain degree of cunning, which I admire and will be necessary for your survival. I will consider it. But it's too bad that Adrian's other daughter Molly was consumed as you came of age. It would have been nice to have two hostages to use against Morina."