turned to see Knives standing outside her cell , huffing and puffing like a steam engine .
“ Glad to see you two have moved on from Mark and Princess ,” she growled , pushing past them and pulling on her clothes at the same time . “ Now can you two hold off on boning long enough so we can go and rip Old Man ’ s intestines out ?”
Embarrassed , Grey and Lita grabbed their clothes and hastily dressed . They then took each other ’ s hands as they joined Knives at the door , the surly girl ’ s ear pressed to the door . “ I don ’ t hear anything ,” she whispered , gripping the doorknob . “ I hope that means the old fuck ’ s not outside , waiting to kill us .”
Slowly , Knives pulled open the door . When no one came charging through or leaped out at them , they slowly slipped out of the lockup and into whatever was beyond .
They found in a basement with small , square windows where the walls met the ceiling . Daylight streamed in through them , revealing shelves full of boxes and tools . At the far end of the basement sat a giant furnace , flames roaring away inside it . Glancing in the furnace ’ s direction , Lita said , “ Well , now we know why it ’ s so damn hot in here .”
“ But why ?” Grey asked . “ It ’ s probably still cold outside , but it ’ s not that cold !”
Knives didn ’ t say anything , but instead slowly approached the furnace . Halfway there , she stopped . “ Do you guys smell that ?”
Grey and Lita wrinkled their noses . The air smelled like copper and bad meat burning . But where was it coming from ?
Knives stepped closer to the furnace , disappearing into the hulking shadow the furnace threw off . When she
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