And over it were flowing lines of energy. The magik of the map was keeping the lines flowing in the image, just as I had seen it from above.
I didn’t know what to say. He was holding something I had created, and it was beautiful and working as it should.
Better than it should. I had never expected the energy lines to keep moving, but they were.
“Come on, apprentice. Let’s go show the rest what you did. Amazing, simply amazing.”
He turned and headed for the door.
For the first time in all our time together, I had sensed a little pride in Aahz’s voice. I might have been imagining it, but this time I didn’t think so.
It was pride, and it made me feel good.
Chapter Sixteen
“Put your name on the map.”
A. VESPUCCI
Everyone made great noises about the map I had created. And Tanda gave me a long and very nice hug. I didn’t say much, since I was so proud of what I had done, I was afraid I’d ruin the moment by saying something stupid.
Finally, Aahz laid the map out on the table and said, “Let’s get to work. We need to find on here where the spell Count Bovine placed over this dimension is drawing its power.”
I studied the moving blue lines with everyone else, watching how they seemed to come up out of the floor plan of the castle and into the air.
The map was magik, so it even showed the different levels of the castle, like looking into a fishbowl. It was both beautiful and disconcerting at the same time.
“Look in the sub-level of the castle,” Tanda said, pointing.
I let my eyes adjust so that I could see the plan of the castle that far down. I instantly saw what she was pointing at. The wide, thick river of energy that was pouring up from the ground suddenly thinned, like a good part of it had been drained away into an unseen drain. That unseen drain, using that much energy, could only be a spell large enough to control an entire dimension.