Ley lines 2/11

As the class went outside, Jennifer Jane had her leg pulled about knowing all the answers. She didn’t mind a bit; she was quite used to being teased about only being an ordinary human and was wondering what they were all going to do next.

“Now then,” said the teacher, “are we all here? Good, in the area just in front of the castle there is a line of force. I want you all to wander about in your own good time and see if you can find where it is and which direction it goes in. If you have sufficient sensitivity you’ll feel a slight tingle in your feet as you cross the line.”

Jennifer Jane started off by heading in the direction of Esmerelda’s shop. It felt rather strange to be walking rather than flying, but at least all the ground was familiar to her. All three witches lined up at the shop front counter as she approached.

“What are you up to this morning?” asked Esme.

“Trying to detect lines of force.”

Esme looked blank, while Ermintrude just shrugged her shoulders and went back to inner room. Dulce grinned at her but didn’t say anything, although Jennifer Jane noticed that while she was keeping her hands firmly on the counter, she was also wagging her index finger and pointing to her left, in the direction of Tasmin’s cave.

Jennifer Jane smiled a ‘thank-you’ and wandered off slowly in the direction indicated. One or two of the other apprentices were walking in the same area but none of them seemed particularly excited.

“Any luck?” one of them asked as she passed by.

“Nothing so far,” replied Jennifer Jane and then suddenly got a thistle in her shoe. She stopped for a moment, sat on the ground and took of her shoe and sock.

There was no sign of a prickle anywhere. She put her shoe and sock back on, then looked round carefully for thistles. She couldn’t see any at all. She slowly walked round in a circle. Sure enough the prickling feeling happened again, but this time she realised the cause.

She’d found the line of force! She dug her heel into the ground at the spot where her foot had prickled, before continuing to go round in ever increasing circles. It was rather like trying to find landmarks when flying. Every time one of her feet prickled, she banged her heel into the ground, then when she’d made four marks in this way, she kept walking until they all lined up to see which way they pointed.

The line went straight from the drawbridge towards Tasmin’s cave, although it missed out the path and cut straight through the trees. She went back to the teacher.

“Might have guessed you’d be the first,” said the teacher, “well done! I think that particular line is probably why the Witches’ Home was built here in the first place.”

“Are there any more round here?”

“No they’re quite rare in this part of the country. Most of us just accept that the magic exists and let it go at that. Abigail tells me that things are a bit different in your world; some people make a hobby of tracing them out. Daft if you ask me, but there you are!”