Penny and Boots Complete Series Omnibus: An Unveiled Academy Novel - Snakes and Shadows, Werewolves and Wendigo, Pixels and Poltergeists, Bunyips and Billabongs

by Amy Hopkins

  “She’s got me.” Penny bit her lip and tried to sound less defensive. “I didn’t mean to bring Boots here. She snuck into my luggage. I’m not even sure how she made it past customs without anyone noticing her.”

  “Ah.”

  Though the professor made a show of dropping the subject, Penny was left feeling discomfited by the exchange even as the topic of conversation moved onto more mundane things, like drop bears, bunyips, and Maori gods.

  When the lesson was over, Penny headed back to their room despite her growling stomach.

  She gently placed Boots on her bed. “Can we talk, Boots?”

  Boots stretched lazily, then rose up to flick a tongue on Penny’s cheek.

  “Are you happy here?” Penny asked.

  Boots nodded eagerly.

  Penny couldn’t resist reaching out a hand for Boots to nuzzle. “Are you lonely?”

  Boots snorted, a sound she had perfected over the previous months despite Penny’s conviction that, according to serpentine anatomy, shouldn’t be possible. Boots twisted away, leaning over to Penny’s bedside table. With gentle teeth, the snake picked up a photograph propped against a ballerina ornament. She dropped it in Penny’s lap.

  A soft smile touched Penny’s lips as she looked at the image. “I know we have some amazing friends here.”

  It was a polaroid, taken at Paddy’s. She, Cisco, Amelia, and Red had all posed with whiskey shots on Saint Patrick’s day. Boots had draped herself over Penny’s shoulders for the photo, and Paddy had somehow, despite being on the other side of the room moments before, photobombed the shot, his green hat and an empty glass taking up one corner of the frame.

  Penny set the photo on the bed and gently pulled Boots’ face to look at her. “They’re not serpents, though. Don’t you miss your own kind?”

  Boots shook her head. Then, she bumped her head on Penny’s chin before lowering herself to the ground.

  As Penny trailed Boots down to the dining hall, she tried to reassure herself that Boots wouldn’t lie to her. Still, a germ of unease had settled in her gut, and Penny knew it wouldn’t be banished easily.

  Four days later and Penny was still stuck on Professor Steele’s words. Glass noticed her mood during the fitness class Monday evening, calling her out after she landed a frustrated right hook on Jason’s jaw during a sparring session.

  “Jason, go to the first aid room. Penny, you’re out for the night.” Waving away her stricken apology for hurting a fellow student, Glass added, “Six AM tomorrow, here, for a catch-up lesson. You can get out whatever is bothering you against someone who doesn’t block hits like a drunken four-year-old.”

  “Hey!” Jason turned as he reached the doorway. “I’m still here, you know.”

  “No point being offended at the honest truth.” Glass waved him away, then eyeballed Penny. “Go on, take the evening off and come back tomorrow. Don’t be late.”

  Some of Penny’s frustration had worn off after that class, and when Penny arrived in Glass’s training room the next morning, she walked in with another apology on her lips.

  “Don’t say it,” Glass warned her. “He deserved it. You were itching for a fight last night, but his head was in the damn clouds. Distracted by some girl, probably. We’re not here to give each other manicures. He deserved what he got.”

  “Oh.” She’d been too wrapped up in her own angst to notice at the time, but now Glass had pointed it out, Penny realized Jason had been more distracted than usual.

  “How do you want to do this?” Glass tipped his head toward the wall of weapons.

  Penny ran her eyes over the selection. “I haven’t had a good sword fight in a while.” The practice would do her good, and the added weight of chainmail armor—a prerequisite for fighting with the medieval weapons—might help her wear out the last of her jitters.

  Glass nodded his acceptance. He walked to the armory cupboard and dragged out a suit for Penny. As she dressed, he donned his own equipment.

  “What’s got you so riled up?” he asked. “Wait, scratch that. If it’s boy trouble, or hell, if it’s girl trouble? I don’t wanna know.”

  “It’s snake trouble,” Penny admitted. She stopped talking to pull a coif over her head. “Professor Steele kind of insinuated that Boots shouldn’t be here, that she’s better off with her own kind. Not that I had a choice in the matter—she came of her own accord.”

  But did she do that because she really wanted to, or just to make me happy?

  “And what did Boots have to say about that?” Glass asked. He stood, rolling his shoulders to adjust to the weight of the armor.

  Penny mimicked his actions, feeling comforted by the heavy mail draped over her torso and head. "She said she’s happy here.” Boots had made a big show of snuggling up to Amelia at dinner and even gave Cook a kiss on the cheek before they left the dining hall. “She says she’s not lonely.”

  "Then why do you care?" Glass plucked a short sword from the stand and tossed it to Penny. "Do you think Steele is a threat?"

  Penny caught the sword easily and twirled it in a circle. "A threat? Come on, Glass. It's not like she's going to steal a mythological creature and try to smuggle her home."

  Glass pulled a second sword free, hefting it in his hand to test the weight. "Then my question stands. Why do you care?"

  "She said Boots should breed!" Penny backed into the middle of the room, knowing that if she turned her back on Glass, he would take advantage of it even before their sparring officially began.

  Glass laughed. “Jesus, Penny, you sound like an overprotective mother who doesn’t want her kid to buy a motorbike.”

  “I do not.” Penny knew she was beginning to sound petulant. She gripped her sword tighter and prepared to unleash her growing irritation on Glass.

  "Saying she’s mature isn’t exactly an insult,” Glass continued. “There are people on the streets calling Mythers the spawn of the devil. I don't see you getting all riled up about them." Glass moved into position.

  Penny sank back into a defensive stance, holding her sword at the ready. "I don't have to sit through classes with those losers."

  "You're deliberately missing my point." Glass struck without warning, the metallic clang of sword against sword echoing around the chamber. "Why. Do. You. Care?"

  Penny grunted, parrying another strike. He had her on the back foot. She defended herself three more times before she found an opening. Penny thrust with her sword and Glass knocked it away easily. "Because I liked her. For about fifteen minutes, anyway."

  "Why?" Glass followed his question with a flurry of sweeps and jabs.

  Penny stumbled backward, already breathing hard. "She’s from New Zealand. That's practically home. And she is a specialist in the mythological branch that created Boots. I thought Steele could tell me more about her, help me understand her. She wasn't supposed to suggest that I send Boots away."

  “When did she say that?” Glass allowed her to regain her balance before striking again.

  Penny grunted as she blocked a blow aimed at her knees. “She didn’t.”

  "So you're mad because… Ah Hell, I don’t even know what your problem is. You’re putting words in her mouth and making assumptions based on your own misplaced guilt." Glass stepped back, allowing Penny to catch her breath. "You should be pissed, but not at her."

  Penny huffed a quick breath. "When you put it like that, I feel like an idiot."

  Glass lifted a shoulder. "You're not an idiot, but if you keep letting emotion fuck with your judgment, you'll pay the price eventually."

  Penny raised an arm to wipe the sweat out of her eyes. Thwack. The flat of Glass's blade slapped against Penny's ribs, bruising them through the heavy mail.

  "Ow! You bastard!" Penny stepped back, dropped her sword, and ripped the coif from her head, signaling the end of the match. "I learned my bloody lesson. Did you have to break a rib to drive it home?"

  Glass smirked. "You didn't learn a damn thing. You're angry at me now, a
ren't you? You know better than to take your attention off an opponent, and you know better than to trust someone without a logical reason for doing so.”

  “Fuck you.” Penny grinned to show the professor she held no hard feelings. “How about we try some hand to hand?”

  “Giving up already?” Glass taunted. “I thought you needed the practice.”

  Penny groaned, knowing he was right. She took a deep breath. Her ribs complained, but not too badly. They’re not broken. No excuse.

  “Fine. Let’s get it over with.” She dropped the mail coif back on her head and picked the sword back up. “Bring it.”

  Chapter Five

  “Do I want to see the other guy?” Cisco pushed open the coffee shop door for Penny, wincing at her black eye and the thin scratch on her cheek.

  “Sadly, Professor Glass is fine.” Penny grinned wryly. “The only damage I did to him was a busted knee. I made a real mess of it, too, bad enough that he sent me for the Asclepius staff.”

  “What, and he didn’t let you use it?” Cisco let the door fall closed behind them. “What an asshole.”

  “He offered, I said no.” Penny shrugged. “I only have a few bruises. It wouldn’t be worth it.”

  Cisco frowned. “The staff is a bottomless pit of healing power. It’s not like it runs out.”

  “It’s not the only thing that’s a bottomless pit right now.” Penny pressed a hand to her stomach. “I skipped breakfast, then spent two hours working my ass off in the defense room. I could already eat a horse. The last thing I need is a magically-induced appetite boost.”

  “Oh. Then I guess we’re ordering meals?” Cisco grinned and plucked a menu off a nearby table. “I was going to offer to pay, but I don’t have enough for an actual horse.”

  Penny snorted. “I passed your mum on the way out. She was muttering something about ‘young men begging for lunch money in their twenties.’ I can pay my own way, thanks.”

  “That’s a bit over-dramatic,” Cisco replied. “All I asked is if she had a couple of quarters. I even gave her a dollar back. She made a profit!”

  “Oh, for the game?” Penny glanced over at the arcade machine. Pixelated spaceships danced over the screen. “Can we eat first? I wasn’t joking, I really am starving.”

  Cisco laughed. “Fine!” He dug his wallet out of a back pocket. “I meant it, by the way. Today’s my shout… As long as you stick to burgers and coffee, not entire beasts of burden.”

  "A burger sounds perfect. Just get me the biggest one they've got, with a side of fries. And maybe a Coke?" Penny fished around for her own purse. "Here, let me give you some money. I was only teasing before. I don't actually want to send you broke."

  Cisco put a hand up, refusing her offer. "Go find us a seat, I've got this."

  Penny wandered over to the game and watched the scrolling screen. A triangular spaceship floated at the bottom, shooting beams of white at opposing ships and exploding them in a shower of red dots. The demo sequence ended, and a list of names scrolled up from the bottom.

  1. Trevor White….. 52,559

  2. Trevor White….. 47,331

  3. Maximillian Bucks….. 30,000

  The names continued down the list, all of them except the first three showing a score of five, ten, or twenty thousand.

  “Hey, is that Trevor Trevor?” Cisco reached over Penny to point at the highest scorer. “His last name is White.”

  “Must be,” Penny replied. “What about those other names? Joe King, Al E. Gator? They’re too punny to be real.” She ran her finger down the list.

  Cisco laughed. “Nah, they’re just placeholders. You can tell because the scores are all even multiples of a thousand.”

  “Ah.” Interest already waning, Penny dropped her handbag on the table closest to the arcade machine. “You ordered?”

  “Violet was out back. I’ll do it now.” He headed back for the register, where Violet had begun stacking paper coffee cups next to the espresso machine.

  Penny sat just as the small bell over the coffee shop door jingled loudly and two heavyset men in crisp black suits barged in. Both had clean-shaven heads, dark sunglasses, and small black earbuds attached to cords leading inside their jackets. One pushed a dolly while the other ran his eyes over the cafe.

  That doesn't seem normal. Although the men gave off an aura similar to agent Crenel and the rest of the CIA, something about these guys was a little off. Perhaps the way they moved in perfect unison, not speaking, not communicating, but somehow perfectly in sync. Maybe they just look a little too much alike. The men certainly looked similar enough to be brothers, and not just in their dress. Pale skin, ice-blue eyes, and perfectly straight noses gave them enough likeness that they could even be twins.

  Her heart fluttered faster as the men approached her table. Behind them, Penny could see that Cisco had stopped mid-order, watching the men walking toward her.

  Penny took a breath, preparing to give the men a friendly greeting. As she opened her mouth to speak, they brushed past her wordlessly. Without breaking stride, one of the men parked the dolly next to the arcade machine. The other smoothly knelt, inserted a key into the side, and dislodged a black box that jangled with quarters.

  What the fuck? As strange as they looked for government employees, the idea of them working for a company selling old gaming machines would have made Penny laugh if she wasn’t already so unsettled by their appearance.

  The first man stooped over, withdrawing a small black box from one pocket. An attachment dangled from it that he plugged into the side of the arcade machine. Penny could see a small LED screen flare to life but couldn’t make out what was on it. Before she could debate the safety of standing up to look, he unplugged it and shoved it back in his pocket. He grabbed the dolly, shoved it under the machine, and pushed it out of the shop.

  The other man walked up to the counter and dropped the heavy box of coins on the counter. “You’ll have a new machine first thing tomorrow." The man spoke in a clipped tone, his face expressionless as he turned away and walked out the door.

  "Well, that was the weirdest thing I've ever seen," Cisco remarked when he joined Penny at her table. "Damn shame about the game, though. I was looking forward to having a go."

  Penny twisted in her seat, trying to spot the duo out the window. She couldn’t see them. “Really? Because that whole thing just made my skin crawl. Who were those guys?”

  Cisco screwed up his face. "Guys like that are the reason conspiracy theories get started.”

  “That’s the truth.” When the bell jingled again, Penny’s eyes shot to the door. “Oh, hey. Speak of the devil.”

  Trevor immediately went to the empty corner of the shop. “Damn.”

  “Nice to see you too, man,” Cisco teased.

  Trevor’s head jerked up and he stammered an apology. “Sorry! I wasn’t talking to you, I swear. I didn’t even see you there.”

  “Sure, you didn’t. I bet you—” Cisco yelped when Penny kicked him under the table.

  “We know you didn’t, Trevor.” She kicked a seat out for him. “If you’re looking for the arcade game, two goons just wheeled it away. They said something about a new one coming tomorrow.”

  Trevor let out a frustrated groan. “No! I thought they’d leave it here a bit longer, at least.”

  “We saw your high scores,” Penny told him. “You really like space shooters, don’t you?”

  Trevor looked around the cafe, then ducked his head low. He cupped a hand over his mouth and whispered something too low for Penny to catch.

  “What did you say?” She dropped her voice a little, but he hushed her anyway.

  “Not so loud,” he hissed. “I’m on an undercover operation.” He darted another look around.

  “You know,” Cisco told him, his voice at a normal volume. “The worst way to avoid notice is looking like you’re trying to avoid notice.”

  Trevor sat up and looked around again. With a chagrined expression, he settled back into his
chair. “Oh.”

  “What are you doing on an op?” Penny asked. It was unusual to see anyone outside of the field agent track to be given a mission. Red and Amelia were only able to accompany Penny and Cisco out because of their track record with the Kraken from the first semester.

  Grimacing, Trevor shook his head. “It’s not official. Not yet, anyway. As soon as I’ve got enough evidence, though, I’m going straight to Agent Crenel. If I’m right, this will be huge!” His eyes grew big with excitement as he spoke.

  “So… You’re not gonna tell us what it is?” Cisco asked.

  Trevor hesitated. Penny immediately began to reassure him that he didn’t have to share, but he cut her off. “It’s not that I don’t trust you guys, really. I just don’t want to put you in any danger.”

  Cisco smirked. “Well, Danger just happens to be my middle name.”

  “No, it’s not.” Penny snickered. “It’s Bartholomew. Your mom told me that ages ago.”

  “My other middle name,” Cisco said with a withering glare.

  “Regardless,” Penny continued patiently. “If Trevor doesn’t want to tell us what he’s working on, he doesn’t have to. I’m sure he’s got it under control.” She shone a confident smile at Trevor, who blushed in return.

  “Fine.” Cisco twisted around to look over at Violet, who had two coffees and two burgers balanced on a tray. “Mmm, lunch is coming!”

  Penny punctuated his statement with a loud stomach growl. The sound was echoed by something deeper that rumbled through Penny’s body.

  “Wow. Your belly really is complaining.” Cisco looked around for the waitress.

  “Cisco?” The sound pulsed again. “That wasn’t my stomach.”

  Their eyes met for the briefest moment before the two friends shoved back their chairs and dashed out of the café, leaving Trevor hurrying behind.

  “There!” Penny pointed at the looming giant who towered over the building from a street away. “What is it?”

  “She’s enormous.” Trevor’s face was white, and a thin sheen of nervous sweat beaded on his brow.