It required tapping into the life energy created by every creature, human or otherwise, who lived, worked, or did anything else within the city limits. Each and every activity that went into weaving the fabric of a city’s daily existence counted towards the pool of magic that could be used to Ward it. The magic from actual city residents was best, though the lesser hit that came from people who lived outside the city but commuted into it for work was substantial. Even the fleeting glimmers of power you could get from travelers just passing through did their part. By her personal tradition, Millicent had for the last fifty years, rain or shine, risen to travel as far around Seattle’s borders as she could each morning, pouring power into the city Wards. Now that she had Christopher—and by extension, me, since I seemed to be a walking battery for his power—she’d leaped at the chance to make him cover even more territory than she could. Two months after the fact, I understood the basic whys and wherefores, or at least I thought I did.
