A pagan, witch, Practitioner, and Onyx’s girlfriend. She first appeared in Good Intentions.
Biography[]
Molly Murray grew up in a large family in Phoenix, Arizona. She became estranged from her family during high school due to being bisexual and a pagan. Her only supportive relative was her uncle Kevin Murray in Seattle.[1][2] Rather than being subjected to conversion therapy she fled to him. Kevin took her in and helped her gain a GED diploma.[3]
Life in Seattle[]
At age nineteen she worked in Elizabeth Van Dalen’s bookstore and had been mentored in magic by her for some time, despite them following different Practices. She met Onyx while working there.[2][4] They moved together into an apartment in Shoreline sometime after that.[5]
After Elizabeth’s death Molly was bequeathed her Book of Shadows, the most important element of Elizabeth’s magical heritage. Molly and Onyx however had to fight off violent attempts by other Practitioners to claim the book.[5] The Brotherhood of Apollo also approached them several times, wanting them to join the Brotherhood.[6]
Meeting Alex[]
Molly met Alex in photography class at North Seattle Community College. Both she and Onyx found him interesting, and Molly supported Onyx in asking him out. When Onyx had discovered Lorelei’s presence in his life, they planned and executed an attempt to free him from her. The attempt summoned and bound Rachel instead. Their further investigation caused them to be “invited” to Blackthorne manor”, where they participated in the Battle of Blackthorne manor and met the Crew.
In late October Lorelei approached her and Onyx. Lorelei wanted them to raise magical protections in and around Suite 1705 and also sought their help to alleviate Alex’s Post Traumatic Reincarnation Disorder. An additional factor was that Lorelei wanted to nurture the relation between Alex, Molly, and Onyx.[7] After the Emerald City Halloween Ball and the Battle of the Bus Tunnel those concerns became much more urgent. Molly and Onyx raised magical protections around Suite 1705, and then crafted and performed a ritual with and for Alex to settle his memories of past lives.[8][9] This also opened the way for the three of them to start a relationship.
She participated in and played an important role in the Battle of Magnuson Park. After the battle she and Onyx started to consult on magical topics with the Special Task Force of the FBI.[10] This together with being on retainer for Lorelei gave them greater economic freedom.[7][11]
As a result they went house-hunting in early December, assisted by Alex. They found, leased, and cleansed House 12573, and moved into it between Christmas and New Year.[12][13]
Seattle Practitioner community[]
She and Onyx were approached by Kate Oakwood in January, who wanted to craft closer ties between the Practitioners in Seattle. They were escorted by Alex to the meeting, with the rest of the Crew nearby as backup. The following meeting turned into the Battle of the Casino, and a continued assault from the Light with the Battle of Suite 1705. During this she befriended Taylor and introduced her to magic.[14][15]
When Onyx’s connection to the Family was unearthed by Zafirah she went to Vancouver with most of the the Crew. She provided magical protections, logistic support, and backup during the Family party, and played an important role during the Battle of the Silver Delta where she freed Joel.
Throughout this period her relation with Alex started to deepen, from being something like friends with benefits to love.[16] Alex also accompanied her and Onyx to a faire for occult books in Olympia which didn’t turn into magical chaos and fighting.[17]
Los Angeles events[]
In May she consulted with the Special Task Force in their investigation into Evan Murphy and the events of the hill house party, for which she and Onyx traveled to Los Angeles.[18] Her ability to communicate with animals and her general experience with magic proved very valuable during the investigation, though she and Onyx became highly sceptical about the attitudes and actions of several members of the task force, especially Sanderson.[19][20]
After Onyx had discovered traces of Evan’s magic, Molly, Onyx, and Amber confronted Evan, Sunday, and Barstow at the end of the battle of Westview Tower. They were in turn attacked and captured by vampires, leading to the battle of Fifteen Percent. Throughout this, Molly’s ability to communicate with Barstow proved highly valuable. After Sanderson fired Amber Maddox over letting Evan go, Onyx and Molly both quit the task force.[21]
Personal[]
“Molly’s all fire and raw intensity, but she’s also the warmer one between her and I. She’s a badass chick on the outside and a teddy bear inside. A bear with teeth and claws and bear muscles, but still.”
— Onyx, Natural Consequences, chapter 12
Molly usually dressed as a goth of the punk variety, with torn black band t-shirts with references to bands like VNV Nation and Sisters of Mercy, paired with metal and leather jewelry.[22][7][23] She had green eyes and red hair, which she styled into spikes and colored fire engine red.[9][2] She was busty enough to require a “substantial” bra.[24]
She was intense and outspoken with little care for manners or choice of words, and preferred to handle conflicts and other topics head-on. She also had a fondness and talent for theatricals. Behind her brusque and edgy manner she had plenty of natural empathy and cared strongly about people.[25] She liked and cared for animals, which also was reflected in her magical talents.[26][5] She was frugal but also stressed out easily over money.[17]
She was bisexual but had come to prefer women as sexual partners.[2] She was open about sex and sexuality, both her own and others. She enjoyed and could handle large amounts of alcohol, but quickly lost a lot of her verbal self-control after drinking.[27][13]
Compared to most Practitioners, Molly was relatively open about the knowledge, effects, application, and consequences of magic. While she did not speak freely and openly about magic, she was candid about it to people aware of the supernatural or who would be directly affected by it.[28][16]
Relationships[]
Molly was close to her uncle Kevin and got along well with his cat Attila. She was estranged from the rest of her birth family.[1][2]
She had lived together with Onyx for several years and had good relations with Onyx’s parents.[29] She and Onyx also had a relationship with Alex that developed from a fling to friends with benefits to love, though it was less serious for her than it was for Onyx.[16] She also had a crush on Lorelei and they had some trysts.[13][16] She had prior relationships with both men and women before meeting Onyx, though apart from Alex all of her experiences with men had been unsatisfying to her.[2]
After and following the battle of Magnuson Park she developed a close friendship with Drew, Taylor, Jason, Wade, and Amber.
Together with Onyx she maintained a wide circle of mundane friends.[13] She however kept a relative distance to the other Practitioners in and around Seattle.[29]
Abilities[]
Molly was physically strong and knew how to use her brass knuckles to good effect.[1][6] She had several years of experience from theater, which nurtured her ingenuity.[11][17]
Her natural talent for magic had been effectively nurtured by Elizabeth, making her into powerful, capable, and well-rounded witch and Practitioner while still young.[4][30] She was particularly talented in matters of nature, like weather, plants, and animals. She demonstrated the ability to communicate with cats,[27] crows,[6] snakes, raccoons,[5] dogs,[24] and red-tailed hawks.[14] She was a highly capable healer. She could also work effectively with the elements, at least air, fire, and water.[13][31]
She became much more powerful after the Brotherhood of Apollo was destroyed.[32][33] However, her inventiveness, her pragmatic attitude and experience from working with limited resources meant that she often used indirect effects.[30][31]
Possessions[]
Molly’s wand was made out of verawood and she owned at least one set of brass knuckles.[26][6] She used to drive an old red Honda Civic, but bought an inexpensive hybrid in February or March.[9][17]
Together with Onyx she owned Elizabeth’s Book of Shadows.[5]
Theories[]
Given her surname and her red hair, it is probable that Molly was of Scottish or Irish descent.
It is possible that their role in the Battle of Blackthorne manor led to Molly and Onyx claiming a greater part of the freed magical power in the Seattle area.
Her relative distance and wariness of other Practitioners, despite her having been close to Elizabeth, probably had several causes. One might be the trauma of having to escape her family, leading to her being very careful in who she trusted. Another was repeated early experiences with the more unpleasant elements of Seattle’s Practitioners, like the Light, Archimedes and Hypatia, and the Brotherhood of Apollo.[4][5]
Sources[]
Molly plays a key role in the following stories:
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 “Naked Justice”
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Natural Consequences, chapter 11
- ↑ Personal Demons, chapter 2
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Personal Demons, Prologue
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 “Authenticity”
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Good Intentions, chapter 14
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Natural Consequences, chapter 4
- ↑ Natural Consequences, chapter 8
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Natural Consequences, chapter 10
- ↑ Natural Consequences, chapter 18
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Natural Consequences, chapter 5
- ↑ “More Than Friends”
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 Personal Demons, chapter 3
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Personal Demons, chapter 14
- ↑ Past Due, chapter 14
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 Past Due, chapter 12
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 “Legitimacy”
- ↑ Grand Theft Sorcery, chapter 17
- ↑ Grand Theft Sorcery, chapter 18
- ↑ Grand Theft Sorcery, chapter 22
- ↑ Grand Theft Sorcery, chapter 26
- ↑ Good Intentions, chapter 11
- ↑ Good Intentions, chapter 15
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 “Date Night”
- ↑ Natural Consequences, chapter 12
- ↑ 26.0 26.1 Good Intentions, chapter 17
- ↑ 27.0 27.1 Good Intentions, chapter 12
- ↑ Natural Consequences, chapter 13
- ↑ 29.0 29.1 Past Due, chapter 2
- ↑ 30.0 30.1 Personal Demons, chapter 23
- ↑ 31.0 31.1 Past Due, chapter 25
- ↑ Natural Consequences, chapter 16
- ↑ Personal Demons, chapter 11