Chapter 30: Countess Chocula

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

Start from the beginning: Chapter 1

Previous Chapter: Chapter 29

Where we left off: Gillian and Jack discover in the castle’s library that Gillian can become Countess if she can convince the rest of the Vampire Court. But someone can always challenge her seat with a duel. They head off to get changed out of their dirty, bloody clothes so they can face the Court.

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Gillian

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Jack hissed as Gillian sponged water on a cut above his eye. He was perched on the edge of the bathtub in her personal bathing chambers, his bloody shirt had been peeled off and she was attempting to see to his wounds. Her chest had ached when she’d seen all of the cuts and bruises that covered his face and torso. If she ever saw her father again, she’d kill him.

“Sorry,” she whispered. Jack was so close, she could feel his breath brush across her lips as she spoke.

“If we’re going to spend time together, you’re going to need to learn more about humans. We don’t do well with blood leaking out, you know.” A strange look passed across his face but was gone a moment later before she could interpret the meaning.

Gillian gave a breathy laugh before replying. “And if you’re going to be a warlock, you need to learn how to take care of yourself.”

“Well, so far I only know two spells. I’m going to need those Latin lessons from you soon.”

She smiled while continuing to dab at his wounds with a much lighter touch.

“So,” he started, taking a deep breath before continuing. “What’s the plan exactly? We just show up to the rest of the Court and ask them nicely to make you queen in your father’s absence?”

“Well, the thing you have to know about vampires is that they love power. We need to give them a show of force. Let everyone know that aside from any laws naming me their Countess, I am also the best choice. That I can fight for them, and even fight them if I have to.”

“And you can do that?”

“We can do that.” Gillian hesitated, her hand dropping from his face. “You said you’d help, but I need you to know what that means. If we do this together, I might need you to use your magic.” She scanned his face, looking for the most minute reaction that would show her he wasn’t ready for what she was asking. But he simply nodded.

“Of course.”

“Of course?” Certainly he didn’t mean that. He hadn’t thought through the plan properly. “You’re willing to make someone mortal again?”

“Well, yes, Gill.” He sounded exasperated, which confused her. “I trust you. I know you would never ask me to do anything to another person if there were any other choice. We’ll give everyone the option to follow you and agree to stop drinking human blood. But if someone refuses and tries to duel you, I’ve got your back. Obviously.”

“Obviously?” Gillian felt like a parrot, but she didn’t have any of her own words. No one had ever had her back before.

Jack’s face softened. “Yes, Gill. Obviously. I know I had my doubts about you before. I wish I hadn’t been such a coward when I learned what you were. But I’m here now. I’m here always.”

They were already sitting so close, their faces inches apart, but Jack leaned in ever so slightly. His lips were almost touching hers. She drew in a sharp breath and the rich tangy scent of his blood filled her throat.

Her stomach flipped as she realized how delicious it smelled. The last time she’d been so close to a human’s blood, it was when Jack was dying. Tasting his blood hadn’t even crossed her mind then. But now? Now it was all she could think of. He was safe. And she was thirsty.

Gillian blinked and leaned away from him. Trying to push the thought of tasting his blood from her thoughts. She hadn’t had human blood in centuries and wasn’t about to start.

But Jack had hunger in his eyes, too. His hand rose and rested on the side of her neck, one thumb brushing her earlobe. She could hear the blood pulsing through his veins. Feel his heartbeat quicken as he leaned in. She couldn’t back away. Wouldn’t.

And then his lips were on hers. They were warm and inviting and her tongue slipped across them. Gillian’s eyes snapped open as the blood from his split lip dripped into her mouth. The flavor was like nothing she’d ever tasted. The perfect blend of salt, iron, and copper. It was buttery on her tongue and a slight sweetness followed as she swallowed eagerly.

Gods it was the best thing she’d ever tasted. After so long drinking small animal blood, his warm human blood was divine. Her breath began to quicken as Jack deepened the kiss. The intensity of being so close to him, being so intimate, while tasting something so delicious was an intoxicating cocktail of sensations. Suddenly and involuntarily, her fangs lengthened and pierced his lip. His sharp gasp was enough to break the spell. Gillian pushed him away and retreated to the opposite side of the room until her back was against the cool tile wall.

“Jack,” she breathed, her hand covering her mouth in horror. “I’m so sorry.”

He looked bereft, his hand still hanging in mid air where it had just been resting on the back of her neck.

“What is it? What happened?”

“I– I cut you. I bit you.” Gillian was disgusted with herself. With her lack of self control after one drop of human blood.

Jack frowned and touched his lip, drawing his fingers away to see the trace of blood left there. “Hmm, so you have.” And then he shrugged. Shrugged. “What’s one more little cut?”

“What’s one more little cut? What’s one more little cut?” Gillian could not believe what she was hearing. Did this man have a death wish? “Jack. I drank your blood. And I— I enjoyed it.” She buried her face in her hands. She couldn’t believe what she’d just done and didn’t want to see Jack’s expression when he realized what had happened.

“I mean,” Jack hesitated and Gillian looked up to see a feral grin tugging at his lips. “I didn’t exactly mind it myself.”

Heat rose through Gillian’s entire body and she swallowed hard. “That’s— that’s not the point. I shouldn’t have done it. And more importantly, we are about to try to convince the oldest and most powerful vampires in the world not to drink human blood.”

Jack’s smile dropped. “And what? You think because you had one accidental slip in a few centuries, you don’t have the right to ask it of them?”

“No, it’s not that. Well, yes, that would make me a hypocrite. But no,” she paused, trying to organize her thoughts and explain it in a way that a human would understand. “I don’t think it will work. I haven’t had human blood in so long, I’d forgotten just how good it is.”

“So? It’s better, I’m sure. But you’ve been abstaining just fine, right?”

“Yes, but— If I’d been drinking you this whole time,” Gillian coughed and Jack raised an eyebrow. “What I mean to say, is that if I had been drinking human blood my whole life, I wouldn’t be willing to sacrifice that just because some new leader came in with silly ideas of right and wrong.”

“The idea isn’t silly.”

“No, of course not. But Jack. The difference is— it’s better than I remember. It would be as if a new Prime Minister told you not only are nice perfectly seared steaks outlawed, but you could only eat unseasoned wilting lettuce instead.”

Jack cringed. “It’s really that bad?”

“This is never going to work. What was I thinking?”

Jack rose from the tub and approached Gillian. “Is this ok? Or is the proximity to all my blood going to give you some kind of blood lust?”

Gillian laughed. “It’s fine, Jack. It doesn’t work that way. Vampires are always in control.” She paused, thinking of the way her canines had just pierced Jack’s flesh involuntarily. “Well, I imagine it’s no different than a human around a decadent chocolate cake.”

Jack closed the distance between them and rubbed his hands along Gillian’s arms. “I’m more of a cinnamon ice cream guy, to be honest.”

“Yeah?” She asked, smiling up at him. “I like muffins personally.”

Jack gave her a quizzical look. “I thought you— nevermind. So, what are we going to do? We can’t just back down because of a little chocolate cake and steak craving.”

“No, I’m not going to give in on this. Not when I’m so close to actually making a difference. But why do you care so much? Vampires aren’t really a big problem to humans as a whole, and we mostly stay away from big cities. The chance of you running into one again is actually incredibly low.”

Jack looked over her head, staring at the wall while he thought about her question. “It’s hard to explain. Ever since Alice told me about herself, and about my ancestry, I’ve felt a calling. She said it was my destiny to hunt and kill vampires, and I think she was right. I can feel the weight of it settle into my bones. I’m meant to do something with my life. More than just researching old artifacts.”

“But I thought you loved researching? What happened to your dream of being Indiana Jones?”

Jack chuckled quietly and looked down into Gillian’s eyes. “I do love it. I really do. But I can’t help but feel like there’s something more I need to be doing with this one life I have.”

“Well, here’s a chance to make a big difference. That is, if we can think of a way to convince vampires to stop killing humans without forcing them to only drink animal blood.”

Jack smiled grimly and stepped away from Gillian, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

“Alright,” he said, as he began to pace the small bathing chamber. “Outlawing human blood completely is off the table. What about blood banks?” He stopped and turned to her, eyes wide. “What if we made some type of arrangement with hospitals where vampires can buy donated blood?”

Gillian cringed. “Cold blood is awful. Probably worse than animal blood. It has to be fresh.” She watched Jack carefully as she spoke. He seemed to be ok with her being a vampire now, but she wasn’t sure how he’d feel about all the gruesome details. But he seemed to take it all in stride as he began pacing again.

“What about synthetic blood? I’ve heard of research done to create blood in a lab due to shortages of certain types.”

“I haven’t heard of that, and maybe it’s worth exploring one day. But unless we have a fresh sample to provide to everyone I don’t think theoretical research is going to convince anyone.”

“Good point. What about fresh donors? We set the castle up like a blood bank and just take the fresh blood back to the vampires waiting in another room.”

“That feels a little deceitful. Don’t humans donate their blood to save lives? I don’t think saving them from a vampire feast is quite what they had in mind. Besides, that would only work for the vampires living in the castle. There are clans and individuals all over the world. We don’t even know where they all are.”

Jack nodded. “Makes sense, I guess. How does the castle get enough blood for everyone, anyway? The murder rate in this city must be high.”

“There are actually strict rules about not killing anyone in the neighboring towns. A lot of vampires have studied sangromancy and can travel long distances by blood magic. But also,” Gillian cleared her throat and she could feel her cheeks warm. “Some humans become sort of like a companion to a vampire and offer their blood willingly.”

“Sort of like a companion?” Jack raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms.

“Mmhmm,” Gillian murmured, looking away from Jack’s gaze.

“A romantic companion?” Jack asked, stepping closer to her. “One that is ok with a vampire biting his lip, perhaps?”

Gillian coughed. “Something like that, I suppose.”

“Do you have a companion like that, Gill?”

Gillian turned and found Jack’s eyes boring into hers. “No, Jack,” she whispered. “I’ve never had anything like that.”

Jack started to lean toward her, desire in his eyes. Gillian’s head swam and she glanced at his lips, where she could still see the blood glistening from the two small punctures she’d made.

But then he paused, blinked, and took a step back.

“That’s it,” he said.

“What’s what?” Gillian shook her head, trying to clear her mind and refocus on his words.

“Companions! We just need humans who will consent to giving blood voluntarily. I assume when a vampire takes on a human, they don’t drain them completely, right?”

“Well, no. I think they usually keep the same person for years. Or, um, a group of people sometimes.”

“This is perfect! That can be the law, then. Either you get consent and don’t kill your human, or you drink animal blood. Easy.”

“Well, Jack. I think the humans aren’t always doing it willingly. We have the ability to persuade mortals to do what we want.”

Jack’s eyes widened. “Have you ever—?”

“No!” Gillian interrupted quickly. “Well, once, accidentally. When you missed your train the night we met. I asked you to come back to the Cafe with me and I may have, um, compelled you to agree.”

Jack laughed. “Oh trust me, Gill. I wanted to come spend the night with you. I just thought you were a little crazy, too. No offense meant, of course.”

“None taken,” she said through a giggle.

“But that does pose a problem. Can you just make it a law that compelling humans is forbidden, too? You said there are strict laws about hunting in town. How are those enforced?”

“Fear, basically. My father would make an example of someone every century or so. Execution is a very rare punishment so it’s enough to keep everyone in line.”

“Perfect!”

“You think execution is perfect?”

“Well,” Jack flushed. “I mean, I can make them mortal for you, instead. If you want.”

“You want to be my permanent… mortalcutioner?”

“If that’s like an executioner but for making vampires mortal, then yeah. I’d of course do that for you.” Jack grinned. “But can we come up with a better name?”

Next Chapter: Chapter 31