Chapter 16: Jack and Gealán

Seeking feedback on my work-in-process cozy fantasy novel, Jack and the Beanstalk Cafe.

Philomena

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Philomena felt like the world was tilting on its axis. How could this be? How could this young vampire that she’d known for almost three hundred years be someone else entirely?

“Phi?” It was the vampire who said it– soft and tentative. Like she was talking to a skittish stray puppy.

The room slowly came back into focus and Philomena realized she’d been staring– staring at her friend, the stranger. She let her hand fall from where it had been covering her parted lips, and quickly snapped her mouth shut.

“Well, then,” she said stiffly, turning heel. “It seems we have a lot to discuss.”

She quickly busied herself behind the cafe’s counter– this conversation would need tea. And Philomena needed a moment to herself to gather her thoughts.

Her mind ran through everything she’d known about Gillian. It had been Philomena who’d requested her presence at the cafe 239 years before. There was no way the Vampire King knew of the connection– he certainly wouldn’t have allowed Gillian to come. But how could it even be possible that Philomena hadn’t recognized Gillian for who she truly was for all those years?

And Jack was a Kyteler. At least that made some sense to the gnome. But it was still quite the coincidence that he'd arrived at the cafe that fateful day, and Philomena didn’t like coincidences. She took a few steadying breaths, inhaling the sweet herbaceous notes of the steeping chamomile tea while her thoughts settled.

When she came back around from the counter, toting a large tray with teacups and a plate of marionberry muffins with lemon glaze, she found everyone exactly as she had left them. The human and the vampire were standing rooted to their spots, staring at her like she was the one who had been hiding her identity for centuries. Well, that was a little bit true, but they didn’t know that. Not yet.

“Come on, then,” she said, waddling over to one of the cafe’s small round tables. “Have some tea and tell me what happened in Bath.”

The vampire sprang into action and quickly helped set the tray on the table, while Philomena pulled herself onto one of the wooden cafe chairs.

“Uh,” Jack’s voice cracked and he cleared his throat. “What’s going on?”

Ah, right. This was the human boy’s first time seeing a gnome.

“Jack, sorry,” the vampire said, a blush rising to her cheeks. “This is Philomena. She’s the cook here at the Beanstalk. And Philomena, this is Jack. The, um, scientist I told you about.”

Philomena couldn’t help but smile. She might not have known Gillian’s real name, but she certainly knew who she was. She was still the same loving girl who saw the best in everyone— but was as suave as a baby giraffe.

Jack approached the table slowly. “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” he said, holding out his hand with a genuine smile. “Your pastries are absolutely lovely.”

Philomena shook the outstretched hand with a nod of her head, asking, “and which kind is your favorite?”

The boy glanced at Gillian, who was watching the interaction with wide eyes. “It’s hard to choose, but I think your brioche is at the top.”

An unexpected choice, but she couldn't fault the boy for his taste in bread.

“The fact that you’re not running out of here and calling The Sun must mean our friend here told you about the cafe?” she asked with eyebrows raised.

“Uh, yeah. That there are, um, creatures here?” He paused. “Is that the right thing to call them– uh, you? Sorry.”

Goodness, the boy was as bright as a tomato. Philomena laughed, loud and bright. It felt good to let some tension out of her shoulders.

“Magical folk is generally how we refer to us creatures who lurk in the inbetween,” she said, her voice still bouncing with laughter. “I’m a gnome. And you’ve met Alban, of course. But there are hundreds of different folk who come through here.”

Jack’s eyes were wide. “Alban?”

“Oh, dear. Perhaps he should explain for himself.” Philomena turned toward Gillian. “He’s upstairs in my flat; would you mind fetching him?”

Gillian looked back and forth between Philomena and Jack before nodding and heading to the back of the cafe. As soon as she’d disappeared behind the swinging door, Philomena turned back to Jack, and grasped his arm, all traces of her earlier smile gone.

“I’m going to ask you this once and only once. Did you come to the Beanstalk to bring us harm?” Her eyes were focused on his, her magic probing for any sign of danger or deceit.

Jack jerked his head back in alarm. “No, of course not. What would I do?”

Philomena searched his eyes for another second, then, satisfied he was telling the truth, she let go and settled back with a smile.

“Can’t be too careful,” she said by way of explanation.

Before Jack could reply, his attention was drawn to the back door where Gillian and Alban had appeared.

“Jack! Good to see you!” Alban said as he slapped Jack good naturedly on the back before settling into the chair beside him. “Gillian here tells me you’re in need of an education, eh?”

Philomena could see Jack’s eyes had darted quickly to Alban’s pointed ears, the rounded tips of his own ears turning pink.

Jack’s eyes fixed determinately onto Alban’s. “Uh, I guess so, yeah.”

Alban chuckled at Jack’s discomfort. “Nothing to fear here, son. I’d like to formally introduce myself. Alban the Wise, the former Grand Chieftain of the Silver Clan of the Forest Elves, at your service.” He finished with a slight bow to the head.

Jack stared, slack jawed before clearing his throat and holding out his hand. “Jack Jacob Kyteler of County Kilkenny.”

They clasped hands and Philomena saw Gillian’s cheeks puff out a breath she’d apparently been holding.

“So,” Gillian said, turning to Philomena. “Now that introductions are out of the way, do you mind telling me why you called me Gealán MacDermott? And how Jack is related to Alice Kyteler? And why the wards finally worked on him? And–”

Philomena held out a hand to stop the increasingly panicked ramble. “Enough, child. I’ll explain everything I know. But first, take a breath, have a sip of tea, and tell me what happened on your adventure.”

Gillian and Jack took turns explaining what had transpired since they’d left the Beanstalk the night before. Philomena could sense something amiss between the two– they were overly polite with one another but seemingly refused to make eye contact. Her musings were interrupted when Jack mentioned meeting Alice Kyteler.

So that was where her good friend had been hiding for seven hundred years. Philomena’s chest tightened at the thought of the missed years of friendship. She couldn’t believe Alice would have kept away for so long if there wasn’t a very good reason.

“And, uh, Jack bumped his head but he turned out to be fine. And here we are,” Gillian finished.

Philomena didn’t need her magic to sense the lie. There was clearly something Gillian wasn’t saying and she made a mental note to ask her about it later.

“Well, well. You two have certainly had an exciting day,” Alban said. “But Philly, you didn’t seem surprised to hear Jack here is the grandson of your friend.” He looked at her quizzically.

“You’re right. I recognized his bloodline the moment I saw him outside the cafe tonight.” She knew that explanation wouldn’t satisfy the trio, so she took a fortifying sip of tea and continued. “You may recall me telling you about the night Alice asked me to protect her child. I performed a complex protection spell on the boy– Jacob, he was called. This spell did a number of things, and more than I bargained for, I reckon.” She glanced toward Gillian with a tight smile.

“The spell was meant to block all magic from Jacob. No one looking for him magically would be able to recognize him, but he also wouldn’t be able to access his own magic. This spell was tied to his blood, and passed down father to son, father to son. Which is how we now have Jack here, who still had the seven hundred year old protections on him when he arrived here last week.”

She expected Jack to interrupt there to ask questions, but he seemed dumbstruck– staring at her with a blank expression like he was in the most boring lecture of his university career.

Gillian took the pause as an opportunity to speak up. “What do you mean had? Why doesn’t he have the protection anymore?”

“Well, I think that might be a question for you two,” Philomena looked between Gillian and Jack. “Did something happen? It wouldn’t have been removed without you noticing. Perhaps something involving both of you?”

Gillian blushed all the way up to her hairline and her hands tightened on her porcelain tea cup. Philomena rested a hand on top of hers and muttered, “that’s an antique, dear.”

Loosening her grip she gave Philomena a sheepish smile and opened her mouth to speak but Jack finally found his voice.

“The train.”

“The train?” Alban and Gillian said in unison, turning to look at Jack, who was sitting between them.

“Yeah, remember?” Jack spared a quick glance at Gillian before turning to Alban. “On the train ride to Bath, something weird happened. Gillian and I were… she touched my hand. We got the usual static electricity but it was worse. It was like– it was just different. And then the whole train car shook and the lights flickered.” Jack turned back to Philomena. “Is that what you meant? Something like that?”

“What do you mean the usual static electricity?” Philomena asked, eyes narrowed on Gillian.

“Um, well. I’ve been meaning to tell you. Everytime we touch, I get this jolt of energy from Jack…”

At least she had the decency to look contrite.

“I, perhaps, would have figured this out sooner if I’d had all the information. But yes, it is as I suspected. Gillian you have been drawing the protection spell out of Jack. The last touch on the train must have pulled the final piece and broken the charm.”

Gillian opened her mouth, but this time it was Alban who interrupted her before she could get a word out.

“So, with the spell broken, Alice and Andrei and you,” he looked to Philomena. “Can all see Jack for who he really is?”

“Exactly. It leaves him open to tracking, but it also unleashes his magic. He’s a true warlock now.”

“People keep saying that, but what does it mean? Can I just snap my fingers and make buildings reappear?” Jack asked. He seemed to be taking this well, all things considered. But there was an edge to his tone.

“It’s a little more complicated than that, but Alban and I can help you. We’ll–”

Before Philomena could finish her thought, Gillian pushed back from the table and stood abruptly, arms crossed.

“Can someone please explain what is going on? Why do you think I broke Jack’s protection spell? I wouldn’t even know how to do that and you know I would never do anything to hurt him.” Gillian’s voice cracked and she looked at Philomena pleadingly, her eyes glassy.

“Of course not. You didn’t do it on purpose,” Philomena said softly. “Sit back down, I’ll explain.”

As Gillian lowered herself into her chair again, Philomena saw Jack reach out a hand toward Gillian’s back but he seemed to think better of it and rubbed the back of his neck instead. Philomena shook her head and thought through how she would explain to Gillian what happened without hurting her.

“Do you remember me telling you that when Alice brought her son to me for the protection spell, she placed him in the care of a human woman?”

Gillian nodded, her eyebrows knit.

“The human had a child, as well. A young girl, around six or seven. I put the protection spell on her, too,” Philomena took a deep breath. “That child’s name was Gealán MacDermott.”

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Chapter 1

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Chapter 17