“I’m going to bring my aunt’s remains to my grandmother and beg for her help.” Every convincing lie had some truth to it.

“You told us your grandmother is an entity beyond this world. She is filled with grief and rage and you want to take your aunt’s bones there. Did you forget that you killed your aunt? You stabbed her in the eye. What is your grandmother going to say about that? Are you expecting a warm family reunion?”

“Jim, my aunt was the City Eater. She was larger than me, stronger than me, and a magical powerhouse. She wanted to die with honor and she let me take her life. It was her choice. I was a conveniently honed tool in the right place at the right time.”

“And you think the insane thing that’s your grandmother will understand all that?”

“Yes.” No, but it didn’t matter. If I told him my actual plan, he would think I was insane.

“Did you run any of this by Curran?”

“I told him I was about to do something idiotic and dangerous, and he told me to go ahead and let him know if he could help in any way.”

“I don’t understand your relationship.”

“You don’t have to. Jim, I’m desperate. I can’t protect the city. I can’t even protect the man I love or our child, if the visions are true. Today, right now, this is our chance to make sure Atlanta doesn’t become another Omaha. Or we can move. Every time Roland gets near, we’ll scoot a little farther west, until we end up in San Francisco.”

Jim grimaced. When you’re hitting home, keep going. I plowed on ahead.

“We both know that empires are built on trade routes and good logistics. Right now he’s landlocked in the Midwest. He wants access to a port. He can’t go west, because he’d have to clear mountains and a desert. He can’t go down to Mississippi. Nobody wants to mess with Louisiana, because the native magic is too strong there and because his ships would have to clear the gulf, which is full of ship-eating things. That leaves him with the Eastern Seaboard. If he swings north, he will have to fight the federal government and he isn’t ready for it. His only logical choice is Atlanta. It’s the key to the entire South. He can’t have this city. He will drain it dry and I don’t mean financially. I mean magically. If he claims it, he’ll feed on it like a leech to boost his own power. You remember the Lighthouse Keepers. You know what happens when someone’s magic is completely drained. Help me to keep this from happening.”

He sighed. “What do you need?”