Free Gods and Swindlers (City of Eldrich Book 3) by Laura Kirwan Page B

jacket from a hook near the door, and the three of them headed out the back door into the cold. The previous homeowner had let the holly run wild, but Terry had cleared a wide path back to his newly constructed forge.
    His magical safe room.
    Okay, this is bad, Meaghan thought.
    He slipped a key into the deadbolt and unlocked it, then pulled an amulet from around his neck, squeezed it, and muttered something.
    They stepped inside and Terry pushed the door closed. He exhaled a shaky breath and leaned his head against the door a moment as if to steady himself.
    Steph put her arm around him. “You okay?”
    He nodded. “For now.” He gave her a worried look. “I’m sorry this keeps happening.”
    She shook her head. “Nothing to be sorry about. We knew it was only a matter of time.”
    Terry moved away from the door and gestured toward a battered folding chair. “Meg, have a seat. Sorry I can’t really offer you that coffee.”
    Meaghan sat. “This guy isn’t your typical elf, right?”
    “No.” Terry turned to Steph. “They sent one of the heavy hitters and it let itself be caught.”
    “How heavy?” Steph asked.
    “It managed to mess with John and with one of the witches, even with a spell wall and an iron chain around its ankle.”
    Steph clutched the collar of her robe. “Where is it now?”
    “Still in the basement, but with a lot more iron on it. There’s three witches guarding it, plus Owen.”
    Steph relaxed a little. “Okay. I still think we should kill it.”
    “I agree,” Terry said. “But not before we try to pry some information out of it.”
    Meaghan frowned. “How are you going to do that?”
    “I have some ideas,” Steph said, with a dark look.
    “Now, honey—”
    “I know. We can’t stoop to their level. But after—”
    “I know,” Terry said.
    “I wish you’d at least try to—”
    He gave her a warning look. “You want to talk about this now?”
    Steph glanced at Meaghan. “No. I guess not.”
    Meaghan sighed. They were obviously frightened and while she wanted to respect their privacy, she had to know what she was dealing with. “I get it. I know you have things you don’t want me to know, but this cryptic shit is driving me crazy. Keep your secrets, fine, but tell me what we’re dealing with.”
    Terry sighed and ran his fingers through his beard. “Like you said, that thing in your basement is not a typical elf.”
    “Yeah, I got that. Which is why we’re hiding out here—”
    “Freezing our asses off,” Steph added.
    “Oh, yeah. Right. Hang on a second.” Terry fiddled with some knobs and within moments had a steady flame going in a small square box that sat on a pedestal in the middle of the concrete floor.
    “What’s that?” Meaghan asked.
    “Gas forge.”
    “I thought this whole thing was a forge.”
    “No, not technically. The forge is really the heat source where you soften the metal so you can work it. But people also use the term to describe the entire workshop.” He stopped puttering and looked up at Steph. “Better?”
    She smiled. “Thank you.” She looked at Meaghan. “I don’t manage temperature well. Imagine going through menopause for several centuries.”
    “Ew. No thanks,” Meaghan said. “If that’s the price of immortality, you can keep it.”
    Steph rolled her eyes and pointed at Terry. “You sound like him.”
    “Immortality’s like sobriety. You manage it one day at a time.” Terry leaned back against the anvil and looked at Meaghan. “So, you want to know why we’re having this conversation out here.”
    Meaghan nodded.
    “It’s been rumored for a while,” Terry said, “that some of the fair folk were developing an immunity to iron. Like how humans are developing immunity to magic.”
    “And that’s bad?” Meaghan asked.
    “Very bad,” Steph said.
    “But if their magic doesn’t work on humans, they’re no threat at all, right?”
    “Yeah,” Terry said. “Eventually. But we’re not there yet.