Snakes and Shadows by Amy Hopkins & Michael Anderle

Author:Amy Hopkins & Michael Anderle [Hopkins, Amy & Anderle, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781642025330
Publisher: LMBPN Publishing
Published: 2019-10-25T06:00:00+00:00

Once her stomach was swollen with food and she’d washed off the blood, Penny began to feel human again. She sat on her bed, blanket pulled to her chin, Boots snuggled in her lap. The serpent had fussed and flitted until Amelia had told her off, instructing Boots to “sit down and stop making a fuss.”

Chagrined, Boots had obeyed. She seemed much happier now that Penny was coherent again.

“Do you feel up to seeing the dean now, hon?” Amelia asked, putting a hand on Penny’s knee.

Penny bit her lip. She wasn’t one to complain, and she didn’t really know if Jones had broken any rules—after all, the Academy existed to teach the students to deal with supernatural threats. Some degree of danger had to be expected, right? But Amelia’s explanation that incorrect use of the Asclepius staff could lead to death had set her temper afire.

“No need.” Cisco licked his fingers, salty from the packet of potato chips he’d polished off once Penny finally proclaimed she was full. “I ran into Mom in the dining hall. She guessed something was up, so I told her everything. Don’t be surprised if the dean’s already—“

There was a knock at the dorm door.

“Come in,” Penny called warily.

The door opened and the dean stepped in, her heeled boots clicking on the floorboards. She wore a vibrant red suit that matched her glasses, a look that made her seem young despite the platinum hair knotted in a neat bun and deep wrinkles lining her face.

“Penny, dear. I hear you had a little trouble in the Defense exam?” Dean March’s eyes swept the room, landing on Cisco, who was sitting cross-legged on the floor. She stared at him for a minute, then turned away, ignoring his presence. Boys were not allowed in the girls' dorm, after all.

“I...got a little hurt. And the staff… Well, I didn’t know it—“

Dean March raised a hand. “Perhaps this will be best done alone. Thank you, Amelia and Cisco.”

At the clear dismissal, both students scurried out of the room and shut the door behind them.

Suddenly alone, Penny bristled. Was the dean here to help her or chastise her?

“Tell me everything.”

Boots raised her head to examine the dean, undulating her body in a mesmerizing pattern. To Penny’s surprise, the serpent leaned forward and butted her head against the woman’s cheek, a sign of affection usually reserved for Penny and her closest friends.

The gesture gave Penny the confidence she’d lacked moments earlier, and she listed the events of the testing from start to finish.

The dean listened, nodding occasionally, only a soft intake of breath denoting her surprise when Penny detailed her wounds. Her mouth hardened when she learned Professor Jones had abandoned a wounded Penny when the ordeal was over.

She didn’t pass judgment, only nodded when Penny was done. “We will have to speak to Professor Jones.” Penny bit her lip, wondering if, when it came down to it, her word would be trusted over Jones’s—or if his track record would be enough to indict him.

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