Snakes and Shadows Read online

  Crenel was tired, Penny could see that. His gaze was distant, and she got the feeling he was rambling almost without realizing it. Deciding to at least try to get more information out of him, she leaned forward. “What does that mean for us?”

  Crenel met her eyes. “We’ll be sending you out on missions before you’re ready. Giving you tasks that put you in danger. Maybe getting some of you hurt.” He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “But we don’t have a choice. The very nature of the bureau attracts people who are set in their ways, abide by routines, and are skeptical down to our very core. It’s a handy skillset, but it’s not the one we need for this.”

  “Oh.” Penny shivered. “That doesn’t sound good.”

  “It sounds necessary.” Crenel stood up. “But not for you.”

  “What do you mean?” Penny asked, startled.

  Still watching her closely, Crenel said, “I know you haven’t signed up for classes next term. That’s ok; you told me from the start that I’d have to convince you.” He turned to leave. “But if you’re gonna change your mind, kid, make sure you’re really committed. Once this starts happening for real, there’s no going back.”

  He left, slipping out of the dining room without making a sound.

  Penny sat down with a thump. She hadn’t realized she’d stood up. What the fuck am I gonna do?

  Chapter Twenty

  Penny nursed a warm beer, fiddling with the synthetic locks of blonde hair adorning her head.

  “You’re way too stressed out.” Amelia slid a basket of wings over. “Eat something, and stop playing with that wig, or it’ll fall off.”

  “I’m just nervous.” Penny smiled and tried to focus on the conversation Cisco and Red—both hidden under the shadow of baseball caps—were having about sports. Three seconds later, she had tuned back out again.

  They were nestled in a corner booth at Paddy’s, waiting for Tobias and his crew to show up for their meeting. The team had arrived early in the hope of getting a good table where they could stay out of sight, and the plan had worked—the table for nine with a small ‘reserved’ plague on it just happened to be right near an empty booth.

  Their disguises were basic—hats for the boys, Penny in a long, blonde wig and Amelia under a headscarf—but they had walked right by Heddy outside the Academy, and she hadn’t blinked.

  Now, they just had to wait. Penny had spent the last forty minutes dwelling on Crenel’s words, wondering just how deep they were digging themselves...and whether, after everything, Penny really could just pack up and leave.

  An elbow dug into Penny’s side. “Is that…” Cisco pointed at a girl talking nervously to the bartender.

  Penny’s breath caught in her throat. “It’s Felicity. Duck!”

  The four friends studied the grain of the table as if they had never seen wood before. Once Felicity was seated with her back to them, Penny’s heart began to slow. She shrank back as two more girls joined the reserved table.

  Fifteen minutes later, the new arrivals were seated and were scouring the menu.

  “Neither Tobias or Mark are here,” Amelia pointed out quietly.

  Penny craned her head over the booth to look. “All the seats are filled. Looks like they weren’t invited?”

  “Maybe Tobias is at his big meeting.” Cisco sucked the flesh off a chicken wing and tossed the bones in the basket before reaching for another. “Can you hear what they’re saying?”

  “What who’s saying?”

  Penny stifled a scream as she flinched away from the small green man who had appeared next to her. “Who the fuck are you?” she asked in a squeaky voice.

  “Paddy.” He raised an arm to gesture overhead. “This is me bar! Now, who are they?” He pointed at Felicity’s group.

  “No one!” Penny resisted the urge to punch his curious face, realizing the instinct was born from adrenalin, not sense. Causing a scene right now was the worst thing she could do.

  “Nay, girl. They’re someones, or ye wouldn’t be watching them, would ye?” Paddy plucked Penny’s abandoned drink off the table and took a sip. He sighed happily. “Ahh! It’s as warm as a blarney rock on a sunny day.”

  “Whoever the fuck you are, leave us alone,” Cisco hissed.

  Paddy turned a wide smile on him. “Or what? Ye’ll make me? That might get the attention of those pretty lasses at the table, and I’m guessin’ ye wouldn’t want that, now, would ye?”

  Red leaned over. “Listen ta me, ye wee feckin’ leprechaun. Leave us alone, or I’ll curse ye ‘til the devil makes a ladder from yer wee back, aye?”

  “Wow, Red.” Amelia caressed his arm. “How very Irish of you.”

  Paddy climbed on the table, his buckled boots gleaming. “Get fecked.” He leaned down to come nose to nose with his fiery-haired countryman. “Or buy me a drink.” Paddy dropped into his seat with a grin. “It doesn’t cost ye much ta be polite, now, does it?”

  Cisco made eye contact with Red, who palmed his forehead, then nodded. “Aye, get the wee prick a drink. We can make him work for it.”

  Cisco slunk up to the bar, doing his best to avoid notice from the neighboring table.

  “So, why’re we eavesdropping on yon wee lassies and lads?” Paddy asked. “If ye let wee Paddy in, he might be of use...if ye keep the whiskey flowin’, that is.”

  “What kind of use?” Penny demanded.

  Paddy puffed his chest out. “I’m drippin’ with Irish luck. While I’m here, you canna lose!”

  “Should we tell him?” Penny asked. They’d touched on leprechauns a few times in class, usually with Professor Madera but also, surprisingly, in Craster’s folklore class. The prevalence of Irish bars meant leprechauns were one of the most commonly sighted Mythers in America, he had told them.

  High in self-interest, rarely malicious, treat with care, Penny remembered. And always bribe with top-shelf whiskey, ale, or rum. She hoped they wouldn’t run out of money before the night was done.

  Cisco returned, juggling five shot glasses. He put them down carefully, shielding them with his hands.

  “One for the leprechaun,” he said. He smacked Paddy’s grasping hand away. “If he promises not to cause a fuss. If you help us out, there will be more to come—whether it’s the good stuff or the bad stuff depends on how valuable your service is. All right?”

  Paddy scowled, his eyes glued on the amber liquid. “If you startin’ with the dregs, we’re off to a bad relationship.”

  “Do you agree?” Cisco pressed.

  Paddy nodded, and when Cisco slid the shot glass toward him, he snatched it up. The leprechaun sniffed it, inhaling deeply with his eyes closed. “Oh, laddie, this will be a very good relationship indeed.”

  Passing a glass to Penny, Cisco sighed. “It better be. You don’t wanna know what that round cost me.”

  Once all four friends were in agreement, they quickly filled Paddy in on their goal. Paddy’s eyes lit up, and he quickly agreed to help, reminding them of the whiskey almost as an afterthought.

  He’s loving this, Penny realized. The thought gave her confidence that he wouldn’t betray them.

  Their group fell silent when Felicity cleared her throat and tapped a glass with her fork.

  “You all know why we’re here today,” she began.

  “I don’t,” Paddy muttered, but he did it quietly.

  “I don’t,” someone at the table called. It was a girl with long black hair and a pale face. She shrugged. “I missed last meetup. Where is Mark? Why are we meeting on a Friday?”

  “Mark left,” Felicity said quickly. “I know, it was a surprise to everyone. Tobias is stepping up to take his place, but...well, I wanted to make sure everyone is ok with that.”

  “Does Tobias know about this meeting?” a guy asked.

  Felicity gave a small cough. “Yes. He’ll be here a bit later. He had a meeting with those people from Brooklyn.”

  “Why do we need them?” The guy shot back. “We’re doing just fine on our own. W
e were doing just fine before Tobias came and messed everything up, too.”

  “Messed it up?” a red-headed girl shot back. “Tobias is the only one who actually found something we can use. Mark is just a poser. Tobias is the real deal.”

  Red slipped away from the table and returned a few minutes later. The conversation fell quiet for a bit, then turned to the group from Brooklyn. At the same time, a waitress delivered another basket of chicken wings.

  Penny learned that the East Coast group was trying to recruit Tobias and his people—though it turned Penny’s stomach to think of those eager kids as ‘belonging’ to a creep like Tobias. Apparently the east coast was rife with Mythers, and nothing as benign as drunk leprechauns. Crenel had confirmed that a vampire outbreak was taking root, among other problems.

  “What about the test?” The redhead asked. “Tobias said they’ll want us to prove ourselves. Last time we tried doing something, Dawn ended up in the slammer, and we lost the book.”

  “That was just practice,” Felicity assured her. She reached down and patted her oversized handbag. “Our copies aren’t complete, but we have what we need.”

  “We need that copy,” Penny hissed.

  Cisco grinned. “And I know just how to get it. We’ll have to leave right away, though, so let's leave that until the end.”

  Unable to decipher Cisco’s cryptic wink, Penny let the matter drop. She trusted him to come through.

  Meanwhile, Paddy was getting restless. “I can steal it for ye,” he peered. “For another shot of that fine nectar.”

  Amelia got up to go to the bar. “I’ll buy this round,” she offered.

  Penny watched as her friend sauntered up to the bar with a confidence that gave her a pang of jealousy. Not that she begrudged Amelia all the happiness in the world—her friend deserved it—but Penny wished she had just a smidge of Amelia’s bravado.

  In fact, Penny realized, simply by going to the bar, her friend had already attracted a guy. Penny’s heart rose into her throat when she realized who the guy was.

  Tobias approached Amelia from behind, leaning over to sniff her hair as she ordered drinks for their table. Ew, gross. Out loud, Penny snapped, “That’s Tobias. He’s about to bust Amelia!”

  Paddy jumped on the table. “Not today!” He hurried over to the bar and clambered up a stool, yelling for the bartender. As expected, Tobias turned toward him, irritated by the leprechaun’s obnoxious yelling.

  Amelia was trapped, waiting for the drinks she had ordered. If she simply vanished, that would attract even more attention from Tobias.

  “Cisco?” Penny hissed. “Tell me you have something.” She watched him root through the duffel bag he’d brought with him with a worried look.

  His face turned to relief. “Found it.” He drew out the black and withered Hand of Glory.

  Back at the bar, Paddy’s ruckus was drawing all the wrong attention. Tobias had already turned away and was leaning over to speak to Amelia. Then he drew back, her face locked in his grip as he forced her to look at him. “Shit. Hurry!” Penny stood, ready to go to her friend's rescue.

  “Goddammit, I forgot to bring a lighter!” Cisco looked around desperately.

  “Cisco. Seriously?” Penny pointed to the flickering tea light candle on the table.

  Cisco smacked his forehead and dipped the hand into the flame. Penny waited for the drowsiness—nothing.

  “Sorry, me friends.” Paddy’s face appeared at the edge of the table. “Yer friend has been made. Oh! ye got yerself a glory hand! Handy, those are.” He burst into laughter at his joke.

  Penny’s mind raced. “There must be a locked door nearby.”

  Amelia pulled away from Tobias, her eyes darting toward Penny in terror. She took a step, but Tobias grabbed her arm tightly. A flash of silver sparkled at his other wrist as he raised it to her throat. He looked toward Penny’s table with a wolfish grin.

  “Aye, the top-shelf whiskey is behind lock and key.” Paddy’s face dropped. “Used to be easier to steal. Now it’s damn near impossible!”

  Red grabbed his wallet and dashed for the bar, Penny on his heels. As he stopped to call a bartender over, Penny walked straight up to Tobias. Amelia lifted her face to Penny, confusion creasing her face.

  “Do we have a problem?” she asked loudly. “Let her go.”

  “No!” Amelia shrank closer to Tobias. “You don’t have to do that, Tobias. Please...don’t leave me.”

  Tobias dropped Amelia’s arm, lifting his hands up defensively as he turned his smile on Penny. “No problem. I was just surprised to see you two here—at a members meeting.”

  “Tobias?” Amelia turned to Tobias, her eyes glazed and unfocused. She shook her head, a quick jerk as if to throw off a confusing thought. “It’s ok, Penny. He won’t hurt us. It’s Tobias!” She leaned into him, and he wrapped a protective arm around her.

  Penny took a shaky step back. “What did you do to her?”

  Tobias shrugged. “Do to her? She’s my friend. I wouldn’t hurt her.” He turned to Amelia, who warmed under his gaze. “Would I, babe?”

  Amelia snuggled closer to him. “You’re so warm.”

  “Amelia, listen to yourself,” Penny pleaded. She glanced back over her shoulder—Red was fidgeting impatiently as the bartender drew out a set of jangling keys and walked to the whiskey cabinet. “Tobias is not your friend!”

  Amelia pulled back, eyes dark and heavy. “He’s not? Yes, he is.” She blinked hard. “I...I love him.”

  Clenching her jaw against the nausea that roiled in her gut, Penny leaned forward. “Amelia? Listen to me. I am your friend, your best friend. Tobias is forcing you to do this.”

  Amelia tugged away, tilting her head and narrowing her eyes. “No. No, I just feel… Oh, Tobias.” She sank back into him. “Mmm.”

  Tobias grinned at Penny and raised his right hand, wrist facing her. The tip of a silver arrow peeked out from the top of his sleeve. “Penny, listen closely. Amelia is mine now. If you come after us…” He shrugged, the grin still smeared on his cocky face. “Well, you don’t want your friend to get hurt, do you?”

  “You’re already hurting her, Tobias,” Penny snarled.

  “No, he’s not,” Amelia insisted. She caught Penny’s eyes. “He loves me; he’d never hurt me. Just like Corey wouldn’t hurt his friends. Tobias is loyal.”

  Penny stumbled back a step. Corey? Corey is a prick. He stabbed...oh! Amelia knew what was happening and was doing her best to fight it.

  “Amelia,” Penny said carefully. Her heart raced and the room buzzed, and Amelia’s sleepy eyes filled Penny with dread. “Tell me what to do.”

  “Just…” Amelia blinked hard. “Just wait and see.” She smothered a yawn. “It’ll all be ok.”

  Amelia slumped. Penny reached out, but teetered to one side and missed. She stumbled and fell. Her face smacked the floor, and darkness clouded around her. The last thing she saw was Tobias, on his knees, slowly tipping to one side.

  “Penny, wake up!”

  Penny’s eyes jolted open, and she reflexively gripped the dry fingers that touched her hand.

  “Woah, don’t snap them off.” Cisco leaned down and grabbed Penny’s hand, hauling her to her feet while awkwardly pressing the Hand of Glory into her palm. “Let’s get you out of here.”

  “Amelia? Amelia!” Penny almost dropped the relic. “We need to go now!” Penny glanced at the flame and it sputtered, a glowing blue nub on the tip of a finger.

  “The book?” she asked. Her mouth felt like she’d been sucking on the dead hand and she screwed up her face, trying to work moisture into it.

  Cisco clasped Penny’s hand, the dead limb wedged between them. “Felicity will have it. Come on.”

  Holding tightly to each other and to the hand, the two quickly found Felicity’s bag and unzipped it. Penny fished out the folder of crisp, white paper and tucked it under her free arm. “Let’s go!”

  They ran for the exit, ignoring the patrons slumped over dr
inks and the bartender draped over the bar. “Did you check that everyone was ok?” Penny asked warily as Cisco pushed the door open.

  “Yeah.” Cisco moved aside for her to pass . “We had to save one guy from drowning in his soup, and I don’t think we’ll be welcome back there again...but hey, we did it!”

  The crisp night air took care of the last of Penny’s fatigue, and Cisco blew out the guttering flame. Cisco pulled Penny down the street and around a corner.

  “Amelia!” She spotted her friend sitting on the sidewalk, leaning against the glass window of a tobacco shop, Red’s arm around her protectively. “Are you ok?”

  Amelia looked up, and Penny’s heart dropped. Lines of mascara dripped down her face, and she gave a shaky smile. “Those arrows really pack a punch,” Amelia admitted, sniffling.

  “Oh, hell.” Penny sat beside her, and Red pulled away a little so Penny could wrap her friend in a hug.

  “It’s ok, really.” Wiping her nose on her sleeve, Amelia chuckled hollowly. “I mean, it feels like I just went through the world’s worst breakup, but I know it’s not real, you know?” She reached out and squeezed Red’s knee. “I know I still adore this big lug, and I know Tobias is a total dick. He’s like...like a boyfriend who just beat the shit out of me. I know I need to walk away, but it still hurts.”

  “Someone needs the shit beat outta them,” Red muttered.

  “Can I help?” Paddy sauntered around a corner. “Paddy is nothin’ if not loyal to his countrymen. Even the big’uns like yerself.” He gave Red an appreciative grin.

  “Paddy, you knew about the hand of glory.” Penny felt hope catch in her chest. “What about Cupid arrows? Will it just keep wearing off until it’s gone?”

  Paddy sucked his lip, then pulled out a fat cigar—where from, Penny had no idea since the little leprechaun had no pockets. “Nope, can’t say I know fer sure.” When Penny’s face fell, he rushed to reassure her. “I’m sure it’ll be fine, me dear. Just wait out the worst of it, and don’t be getting prodded with it again.”