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

  Penny finally dropped her gaze and glanced at Cisco, whose gun was pointed at Corey.

  Corey laughed again. “Come on, Cisco,” he imitated. “You thought I was alone?”

  A shadow made Penny’s breath catch. Tobias stepped out from behind Cisco. “Well, well, well. Didn’t we get lucky today?”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Tobias finished zip-tying Cisco’s hands, then shoved him to the ground next to Penny and Amelia. “Wait here,” he said to Corey. “I’ll go get that Irish bastard. Together, they should make a big enough sacrifice to give us full control over our boy.”

  Penny would have asked questions, but she had already come to the conclusion that she didn’t want the answers. Just as well, she decided. My teeth are chattering too hard to talk anyway.

  The cold had set in as the sun dropped. It wasn’t yet night time, but purple streaks in the sky and heavy shadows in the gorge had brought with them a bone-deep chill that her thin jacket couldn’t hold off.

  Amelia had no such trouble. “Sacrifice for what? Where’s Red? Tell me what you did to him, you sadistic prick.”

  Tobias turned a cold smile on her. “You know, you would have been much happier with me. It’s a pity your friends ruined that. You might have even lived past today.”

  Unimpressed, Amelia gave an unladylike snort. “Whatever you say, Romeo.”

  Tobias’s eyes burned with hate, his jaw pulsing with anger. “I’ll make sure you die one at a time. You can go last. Maybe watching your friends be torn to shreds will fix your attitude.”

  “Yeah. It probably won’t.” Amelia turned big eyes his way. “Assholes like you just bring out the worst in me.”

  Tobias sucked in a breath and stalked over to Corey, who sat against a stray fallen rock fiddling with his gun.

  “You’re sure it’ll work?” Corey asked the older man.

  Tobias sneered. “What, you’re scared? I thought more of you.”

  “No!” Corey ground his teeth. “But you said he’d obey us.”

  Tobias shook his head. “I said he’d obey us once the rituals were complete, you idiot. We still need two more victims to complete them.”

  “What do we do with the other two?” Corey demanded.

  Tobias smiled, a cold, glittering grin that sliced over Penny and her friends. “Once he’s under our control, we can afford to let him play with them for a little. Until he kills them, too.”

  Tobias left. Corey cocked his weapon at Amelia and made the soft sound of a gunshot.

  “You’re gonna shoot yourself in the dick if you keep playing with that,” Amelia called.

  Penny shushed her. “Corey, you don’t have to do this,” she pleaded. “Tobias won’t keep you safe. He’s pure evil. You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into.”

  “Why, because I didn’t finish at that stupid school?” Corey barked a laugh. “You have no idea. Those teachers are dumb. They think their books have all the answers, but they haven’t seen what’s out here.”

  “How would he know what’s in any book,” Amelia whispered loudly. “Can he even read?”

  “Amelia, shut up!” Penny hissed.

  “Corey, let us go,” Cisco chimed in. “You’re going to get yourself hurt. Or worse.”

  Corey lifted his hand, the gun dangling off one finger by the trigger. “Who has the weapon, dipshit? What, you think your mama’s gonna run in here and give me a detention for being mean to you?”

  Cisco muttered something under his breath, then leaned his head back to whisper to Penny. “He’s not gonna give in.”

  “I can’t believe my luck,” Corey crowed, his voice cracking with joy. “When I found Tobias, he promised I’d be able to get back at you someday. But then you just stumble on in, looking for your idiot friend! He’s dead, by the way. Or he will be soon.”

  “I know,” Penny ignored Corey, giving Cisco a sad look. “But we had to give him the chance.”

  “Shut up!” Corey stood, brandishing the weapon. “Stop whispering. Bandage Man will be here soon. I can’t wait until he destroys you.”

  “Do it,” Penny called.

  “Do what?” Corey snapped. “He’s not here yet. I told you that.”

  Penny laughed. “I wasn’t talking to you.”

  It was unlikely that Corey heard her response. Indeed, the high pitched scream he let out was enough to deafen Penny as the six-foot-long serpent launched herself from the shadows and buried her teeth in their captor’s arm.

  The gun fell, skidding across the dirt. Corey punched at Boots’ head but she didn’t let go, twisting her body to wrap around his arm as her fangs kneaded deeper into his flesh.

  Cisco slammed his body into the dirt on top of the fallen weapon.

  “Cisco, you idiot, you’ll shoot yourself!” Penny snapped. She contorted her body to bring her hands around to her front.

  Corey’s screams rose to a fever pitch as he finally managed to dislodge Boots, prying her head up and flinging her to the ground. She struck again, this time a sharp, fast snap at his leg.

  Corey threw himself behind the rock. He rose, brandishing an old branch, and swung it at Boots.

  “Don’t you dare!” Penny ran, legs pumping, and threw herself at him. Her hands might be tied, but her shoulder slammed into his chest, and they fell to the ground.

  Corey grabbed at her hair and caught her face, but Penny rolled away, landing a solid kick into Corey’s midriff.

  She twisted back and pinned him down. “You had the option to do this the easy way,” she grunted. “But no, you had to be an asshole.”

  Corey spat at her. He missed, the saliva covering his own face instead.

  “Wow, Corey, that’s so attractive.” Amelia looked down, pointing Corey’s weapon at him. “You okay, Penny?”

  Penny nodded. “Sure. I’m starting to regret giving him a chance to redeem himself, though. He really is a jerk down to his bones, isn’t he?”

  “Got it!” Cisco held up his hands, zip-tie dangling from one and a small knife in the other. “Now we just have to—" His voice fell away, jaw dropping as his eyes bulged.

  Penny glanced back, barely catching a rush of movement from the corner of her eye.

  “Penny! Catch!” Penny looked up at the urgency in Cisco’s voice as the folded blade spun toward her. She reached out to catch it. Before her fingers could curl around it, a rough hand grabbed her hair, yanking her back with a wordless roar. The blade tumbled to the ground, forgotten.

  Hot, wet breath panted against Penny’s neck as loose fabric tickled her collarbone.

  Amelia pointed the gun toward Penny, slowly backing away. “Let her go!”

  Her eyes were wide and scared. Penny’s brain scrambled to make sense of what was happening. All she knew was that whatever had her, it wasn’t Corey.

  He had scrambled back, his eyes darting toward the only exit from the gorge.

  The gun fired. Penny blinked, relieved to see Amelia had lifted her aim for a warning shot.

  The hand loosened, and Penny jerked away, crying out as a hank of hair was torn from her scalp. She stumbled away as Amelia took another shot, this one aimed at the creature that had attacked her.

  Penny spun in time to see it lurch for her again, its looming form draped head to toe in dirty, bloodstained bandages. “That’s disgusting!” She darted away a moment too late.

  The creature wrenched back on her shirt, pulling her back toward it. Penny leaned into the momentum, shoving herself back toward the beast and slamming an elbow into its chest. She felt the crack of dry, snapping bones, but the cottony arms that wrapped around her head showed no hint of pain from the injury.

  Penny struggled, slamming her bound fists into the creature’s thigh over and over again. It squeezed tighter, smothering her mouth and nose with rancid fabric and filling her lungs with an acidic burn. Penny punched again, driving her knuckles into the same spot. This time, she was rewarded with a hollow snap. The creature’s grip faltered and she wriggled fr
ee.

  Bang. Bang. Bang.

  It lurched back as each shot impacted. Blood blossomed on the stained linen bindings, but slowly, dark stains that oozed rather than gushed.

  It took a step toward Amelia. Then another. Amelia edged back and let off another round.

  “It’s not working!” she called.

  Two more steps. Corey saw his chance. With a yelp, he scurried behind the bandaged attacker and took off running.

  “Coward!” Cisco yelled. He grabbed the fallen branch and held it like a baseball bat, giving it a quick swing for good measure.

  The monster snarled and turned to the gorge. It took a few steps after Corey, turning back when a solid thunk slammed into its back.

  “Look, I know I called him a pussy. Doesn’t mean I want him dead. Let’s keep the odds at three to one. Okay, asshole?” Penny looked around, eyes desperately seeking some kind of weapon.

  That bastard Tobias couldn’t even leave us the flamethrower? He’d stripped them of weapons before he left but only missed Amelia’s gun. Penny spied a rock and grabbed it, hefting it in her hand, ready to throw.

  Amelia pulled the trigger one more time. Instead of a loud bang, it clicked. “Empty!” she yelled, tucking it into the holster to free her hands.

  The bandaged monster let out a growl, then pounced, only to hit the ground.

  “Boots, you legend!” Penny yelled. The serpent had tangled herself around the creature’s feet, tripping it as it attacked.

  She lifted her rock and slammed it down on the covered head. Brittle skull crumbled under her hands, and the bandaged monstrosity fell still.

  Penny looked up at Cisco. “If you drop that branch on my head, I’ll kick your ass.”

  “Just making sure it’s dead.” He let it fall to one side after a few moments. “He is dead, right?”

  Penny kicked the still form. “I guess so. I’d feel better if it was dismembered or burned. Or both.”

  Amelia tugged on the ropes binding Penny’s wrists, prying one of the knots loose. “We can’t do either, and Tobias has Red.”

  Penny’s ropes fell away. She rubbed her wrists and glanced at their escape route. She couldn’t see more than a few feet. “I don’t think Red’s the one we need to worry about.”

  Amelia groaned. “That’s just what I am worried about. What if he kills Tobias? I don’t think werewolfism is a defense for manslaughter. Is wolfing-out classed as reasonable force?”

  Penny’s stomach dropped. “Shit. Let’s go.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Boots led the way, her soft hiss guiding them through the narrow gorge and through a narrow gap they had missed the first time they had passed it.

  Their only light was a tiny flashlight that had been clipped to Cisco’s belt, left by Tobias when he’d judged it useless enough to be safe.

  Penny squeezed Cisco’s hand as he helped her through the gap, then she led Amelia through as she followed.

  Amelia squinted into the shadows. “You sure you know where we’re going, Boots?”

  Boots gave a bored hiss, picking up her pace as the trail opened up again. They passed a straggly bush, then another. When they came to a dead tree, Boots stopped. She tipped her head up and coughed.

  Cisco shined the flashlight up. “Is that your ass I can see, Corey?”

  Their would-be captor whimpered. “Did you kill it?”

  “Yes.” Cisco gestured for Corey to climb down. “Get out of the tree, asshole. Hurry up, we have places to be.”

  Corey began his climb down. A broken branch snapped under his foot and he fell, landing on his back with a thud.

  “Fuck,” he gasped. Winded, he rolled to his feet, hands up defensively. “I didn’t mean that stuff I said back there. Really. I wasn’t going to let you die.”

  “Save the bullshit.” Penny motioned toward Boots. “One wrong move and she’ll eat your face off. Now, where’s Red?”

  Corey’s face twisted in a jumble of emotions before he finally pointed. “That way. There’s a little shack up there, just behind the tree line.”

  “Don’t point. Walk.” Cisco jabbed Corey in the back with his stick.

  Corey flinched. “Seriously?”

  “I’m not leaving you out here to change your mind and come after us, idiot.” Cisco poked him again, and Corey set off.

  The shack was, as promised, not far off. It sat surrounded by trees, gently lit by the rising moon in a small, overgrown clearing.

  Penny pressed herself behind a tree, watching. It was quiet, dark inside.

  “What a shame, it looks like no one’s home. Can we go now?” Corey eyed the serpent that had him pinned up against his own tree.

  Boots had her mouth open, her eyes lazily searching him as if looking for a good place to snack.

  “Shh.” Wishing she had more than an oversized pebble as a weapon, Penny darted forward to slip beneath a window with Amelia scurrying behind her. Penny rose her head long enough to peek inside. “It’s too dark, I can’t see anything.”

  “Cisco?” Amelia called in a loud whisper. “Flashlight!”

  The little flashlight flicked toward them, and Penny caught it one-handed. Taking a deep breath, she clicked it on, hiding the light in her palm. Then, she flashed it through the window. “Oh…hell.”

  The narrow beam showed just enough to make her stomach flip. Blood. Blood everywhere.

  “Red?” Amelia’s eyes were wide, her face pale.

  Cisco kicked the door open, his branch held high. He dropped it when he saw the empty room. “What the hell happened here?”

  Penny followed him in, stepping carefully to avoid coating her boots in the mess. “What’s that?” She pointed into the corner, where a tiny table was covered in melted candles and surrounded by symbols scratched into the old wooden floor. “Tobias really loves his altars, doesn’t he?”

  “Why wouldn’t he?” Penny spun around to see Corey at the door, Boots dangling from a raised fist, gun pointed at her head. “They’ve brought us so many useful friends.”

  “Again?” Penny resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

  “Where’s Red?” Amelia spat. She groped at the small of her back, eyes widening when she came up empty.

  “Looking for this?” Corey waggled his gun hand. “You didn’t exactly make it hard to steal. You’re as dumb as your idiot boyfriend.”

  Amelia’s hands clenched. “I swear to God, if he’s hurt, I’ll do worse to you. Tell me where he is!”

  Corey shrugged. “I really did think they’d be here. Toby isn’t stupid enough to let someone sneak up on him. I figured he’d help me kill you all.”

  “Asshole.” Penny’s eyes were locked on Boots. “Let her go.”

  “I’ll let her go, all right. After I blow her brains out.” Corey clicked the safety off but paused when he looked at the floor of the cabin. “Outside. I don’t wanna mess up one of Toby’s spells.”

  He took three steps back, then grinned, his teeth flashing white in the beam of Cisco’s flashlight.

  Amelia started forward, and Corey waved the gun toward her. “It’s out of bullets, dipshit. Now let Boots go!”

  Corey pointed the gun upward and squeezed the trigger. Bang.

  Amelia screamed.

  Corey laughed. “I was packing a spare clip. You didn’t even search me properly! God, you’re all so stupid, you—"

  Whomp.

  Corey vanished in a mass of muscle and fur.

  Amelia screamed.

  Penny threw herself forward as the wolf bounded away. Boots untangled herself and twisted through the grass, trying to wipe the blood off her scales.

  Blood? Penny turned.

  Corey stared up at the full moon, his eyes glassy. Blood smeared one cheek, and below that was a jagged hole where his throat should have been.

  “Penny!” Cisco stumbled over to Penny, supporting Amelia in his arms. “She’s been shot.”

  Amelia struggled out of his grip. “No shit, Cisco.” Blood pulsed down her ar
m, oozing between her fingers as she gripped her bicep. “I’m not the one who's dead, though. It’s a good thing Corey can’t even hit a target point-blank.”

  Remembering that Corey had hit her with a paint bullet at close range that time in training, Penny thanked whatever summoned gods might be looking over them at that moment. “You sure you’re okay?”

  Amelia nodded. “I’m out of the fight, but I can keep up. We have to go after Red!”

  “He’s gone.” Penny frowned at Amelia’s raised eyebrow and skeptical glance. “Isn’t he?”

  “He’s behind you.” Cisco’s voice was awed.

  Penny turned slowly, easily spotting the wolf staring back at her from among the trees.

  His eyes glittered green in the moonlight, and his fur was red even in the muted colors of the night.

  Arooo-oooo. The werewolf—Red—howled and bounded off into the trees, stopping just before he vanished into the forest.

  “Well? Come on!” Amelia pushed past Cisco and stumbled after him.

  Penny quickly caught up to her friend and looped Amelia’s good arm over her shoulders. “Cisco, get the gun!”

  The wolf led them on a chase through the woods, stumbling downhill through the trees before vanishing as they emerged onto the road.

  “Red?” Amelia called. Her voice was weak, and she stumbled as they reached the paved road. “Penny? I don’t feel so good.”

  “It’s okay,” Penny reassured her. “I see lights up ahead.”

  Praying it wasn’t Tobias, Penny gripped Amelia around the waist and turned toward the twin glow of headlights moving toward them.

  Thank God. Giddy relief flowed through Penny as the dim shape of the car solidified into a familiar Cadillac. It’s over.

  “Crenel!” Penny waved at the agent as he pulled up beside them. “Amelia’s hurt.”

  The agent threw the door open. “Put her in the back. Hurry, there’s something out here.”

  “It’s just Red,” Penny said, helping Amelia into the back seat. “It’s okay, he’s helping us.”

  Crenel gave her an odd look. “This wasn’t your friend. Whatever it is, it’s not out to help us.”