Page 46 of Magical Midlife Conclave

“Why the tourist shop?” Niamh asked.

Nessa’s eyes sparkled. “Maps.”

“Maps?” Sebastian and Austin said together.

Nessa nodded. “Maps.”

“But…” Sebastian scratched his chin. “Google has maps. City Hall has maps.”

“And that is probably why they are up to date on the boundary lines of the territory,” Nessa said. “But City Hall doesn’t have historic maps. I know this because I looked. The tourist place has historic stuff, before the gold rush and mining stuff and zoning battles and all that. Theirs is more woo-woo stuff that doesn’t really count as maps. It’s for the people looking for spiritual vortex energy, like in Sedona, Arizona. Crystal enthusiasts and yoga retreat people⁠—”

“They all end up in the woods, crushing our flowers,” Edgar said from the back wall, hiding behind a plant for some reason.

Aljoe’s sisters startled, having not picked up on the vampire’s presence, and now stared hard at his location. They’d think missing him was an oversight. Little did they know…

“And that stuff isn’t on the internet?” Sebastian asked.

“Not…really,” Nessa said. “I mean…some stuff is, but they are all a bit different, and they aren’t super accurate.”

Jessie sat forward, bracing her arms on her knees. “I’m lost. There’s a…woo-woo map in the tourist place that…is accurate? What is it depicting?”

Nessa took a deep breath, excitement radiating through her person. “The artist is an old hippie, passed away now. She created this really exceptional image of the ley lines around here. She identified a vortex, and she has pools and currents and little eddies of energy. It’s really very pretty. Not totally accurate, but very pretty. There’s a picture of it on their website, but it’s in the background. It’s hard to read. To someone who doesn’t have the Ivy House library as a resource, it probably seems like an accurate mapping of the magical currents running through here.”

“Ley lines,” Sebastian murmured, looking hard at Nessa.

“Yes. She was a Jane, as far as I can tell. Zero magic, but big into crystals and all that stuff. She put the vortex deep in the woods. That’s probably why Edgar has a trespasser problem. People try to go out there to see if they can feel the energy. Other people put the vortex closer to town.”

“And the vortex is actually…” Sebastian lifted his eyebrows.

“It is actually a nexus, and it is…” Nessa pointed downward. “Obviously.”

“Obviously,” Jessie said on a release of breath. “A very old, gothic house that doesn’t really belong in this modern world.”

“The nexus is not directly under the house. More under the yard. But not deep in the woods. That map is closer than all the others, though.”

“Aren’t there a million different maps of ley lines and nexuses?” Sebastian asked.

“Yes. A whole bunch. Overall, positioning of them is generally the same. It’s the minute details that are different. Like a nexus in the woods rather than downtown or directly under Ivy House. The details don’t matter for a lot of stuff. But if you are planning to draw power from it to fuel spells and potions and incantations, you’ll want to be right on top of a line or nexus for the biggest oomph.”

Sebastian stared at Nessa for a long time. She looked back. No one spoke. It was obvious the mages were communicating silently, or maybe Nessa was waiting for Sebastian to catch up.

“He’s trying to harness the power of the ley lines in a modern, magical way,” he finally said. “He engineered a temporary ley line in Kingsley’s territory⁠—”

Nessa shook her head, putting up a finger. “There was a ley line close to Kingsley’s. I think that thing he built siphoned power and stored it. Then he used the stored power to create the spell. Tapping directly into the line will make your power flourish. Anyone’s power can grow, assuming you can handle the gush of it.”

“It’ll help keep power stored in a house,” Niamh murmured. “That explains some things.”

Sebastian stared at Nessa for another long moment. “I haven’t heard of magic that can do that.”

“I know,” she said. “Neither had I…before Tristan set me on its trail. I was researching energy and opened an educational wormhole. Momar knows how to tap into it, probably only pulling out a trickle. That’s why he has to store it. Or did. He’s had time to experiment.”

Again, the staring.

“I am extremely well read,” Sebastian told her, almost like he was accusing her of something. “I haven’t heard about this. Sure, there is speculation and myth about the ley lines, but I haven’t seen anything concrete. How did he find out that information?”

She shook her head slowly. “I don’t know. He’s stumbled upon a lost art, it seems, only he doesn’t know how to properly tap into the vein.”

“Or maybe he does know,” Niamh said, “and he wants to know exactly where that vein is around here.”