"Yes, but …"
Bhruic smiled. "Farewell, Jacky Rowan, and to you, Eilian. Take good care of each other."
"The devil's own instrument!" Kerevan muttered, and then there was a rush of wind in the air, a taste of magic, and two swans, one white and one black, were rising on their wings into the wind. They circled once, twice, three times, dipping their wings, then they were gone, down the long grey October skies.
Jacky sighed and turned to Eilian. "Did you want to go with them?" she asked.
He shook his head.
"I did. Just a little. Just to be able to fly …." Her voice trailed off dreamily.
"I like it here just fine," Eilian said.
"Better than Dunlogan?"
"Much better than Dunlogan."
"Even though there aren't any swan girls here?"
"I never cared for swan girls. I always had my heart set on a Jack, if I could ever find myself one."
"Even one with corn stubble hair?"
"Especially one with corn stubble hair."
"I can't make promises," Jacky said. "You're getting me on the rebound."
"I know."
They looked at each other for a long moment, then Jacky reached for his hand, captured it, and led him back to the Gruagagh's Tower. No, she amended. It's the Jack's Tower now.
"The trouble with Jacks," she said, "is once you've got one, they're often more trouble than they're worth."
Eilian stopped her on the back steps of the Tower and tilted her head up so that she was looking into his eyes. "So long as it's the right sort of trouble," he said.
He kissed her before she could think of a suitably puckish sort of reply.
###
Afterword
Getting this novel ready for digital publication was another fun trip down Memory Lane. You don't think that Jacky and Kate's adventures end here, do you? A sequel, Drink Down the Moon, is in production for digital publishing via Triskell Press as I write this. If it isn't available yet, hang on; it's definitely next on our list.
These two novels were published separately: Jack the Giant-killer came out in 1987, and Drink Down the Moon in 1990. Then, in 1997, Orb Books published both in an omnibus edition called Jack of Kinrowan, which some of you may have read in print form.
In the nineteen years that MaryAnn and I lived in Old Ottawa South, we frequented many of the locales mentioned in this book. Most have disappeared, but the ubiquitous Dairy Queen remains, as does Windsor Park – a fine destination for an impromptu Frisby, tennis or football game, or a lazy walk by the Rideau River to visit with the swans or ducks. We've seen many a murder of crows roosting like strange fruit in the trees along the river. And if you're at all familiar with my work, you'll know how much I love crows.
The Gruagach's Tower – or I should say, the Jack's Tower – is still among the lovely old homes that border the park. Neither MaryAnn nor I have ever been so lucky as to find a red cap that would allow us a look into Faerie, but it isn't hard to imagine the majestic trees along the river as the dwelling place of a hob or two.
One can't help but get a magical feeling when you visit some places in our natural world. Even right in the heart of the city, it's easy to think that there's more there than meets the eye. I hope you have places such as this in your own lives. Once again, thank you for your encouragement and support of my writing over the years. Having such great readers makes the solitary task of writing entirely worthwhile.
Ottawa, Spring 2014
Acknowledgments
I'd like to thank volunteer proofreaders Kim Miller, and Olivia Johnston, who helped us rectify errors for this digital edition.
###
About the Author
Charles de Lint is a full-time writer and musician who makes his home in Ottawa, Canada. His many awards include the World Fantasy Award, the Canadian SF/Fantasy Aurora Award, and the White Pine Award, among others. Modern Library's Top 100 Books of the 20th Century poll (voted on by readers) put eight of de Lint's books among the top 100. With 37 novels and 18 collections of short fiction published to date, de Lint writes for adults, teens and children. His new middle grade book is Seven Wild Sisters, illustrated by Charles Vess (Little Brown, 2014). His most recent adult novel, The Mystery of Grace (Tor, 2009), is a fantastical ghost story and a heart-wrenching tale of love, passion and faith. His newest young adult novel is Over My Head (Triskell Press, 2013). His latest collection of short fiction is The Very Best of Charles de Lint (Tachyon Publications, 2010). For more information, visit his web site at http://www.charlesdelint.com.
You can also connect with him at:
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Charles-de-Lint/218001537221
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/cdelint
Tumblr: http://cdelint.tumblr.com/
Jack the Giant-Killer
First published by Ace Books, 1987. This Triskell Press edition published in 2014.
Afterword copyright by Charles de Lint 2014.
Cover design by MaryAnn Harris.
Cover art by Arthur Rackham.
eISBN 978-0-920623-31-2
For information:
Triskell Press
P.O. Box 9480
Ottawa ON K1G 3V2
Canada
http://www.triskellpress.com
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author or publisher except for the use of brief quotations in critical articles or reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, places, businesses, characters and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, actual events or locales is purely coincidental.
Discover other titles by Charles de Lint at Smashwords.
Other Books by Charles de Lint
SEVEN WILD SISTERS new edition (middle grade novel; Little Brown, 2014)
OVER MY HEAD (young adult novel, Penguin Canada, 2013; Triskell Press, 2013)
THE CATS OF TANGLEWOOD FOREST (middle grade novel; Little Brown, 2013)
UNDER MY SKIN (young adult novel, Penguin Canada, 2012; Triskell Press, 2012)
EYES LIKE LEAVES (early work, 1980 novel, Tachyon Publications, 2012 )
THE PAINTED BOY (young adult novel, Viking, 2010)
MUSE AND REVERIE (collection, Tor, 2009)
THE MYSTERY OF GRACE (novel, Tor, March 2009)
WOODS & WATERS WILD (collection, Subterranean Press, 2008)
WHAT THE MOUSE FOUND (children's collection, Subterranean Press, 2008)
DINGO (young adult novella, Viking, 2008)
PROMISES TO KEEP (novel, Subterranean Press, 2007)
LITTLE (GRRL) LOST (young adult novel, Viking, 2007)
TRISKELL TALES: 2 (collection, Subterranean Press, 2006)
WIDDERSHINS (novel, Tor, 2006)
THE HOUR BEFORE DAWN (collection, Subterranean Press, 2005)
QUICKSILVER & SHADOW (collection, Subterranean Press, 2005)
THE BLUE GIRL (young adult novel, Viking, 2004)
MEDICINE ROAD (novel, Subterranean Press, 2003)
SPIRITS IN THE WIRES (novel, Tor, 2003)
A HANDFUL OF COPPERS (collection, Subterranean Press, 2003)
TAPPING THE DREAM TREE ("Newford" collection, Tor, 2002)
WAIFS AND STRAYS (young adult collection, Viking, 2002)
SEVEN WILD SISTERS (novel, Subterranean Press, 2002)
THE ONION GIRL (novel, Tor, 2001)
THE ROAD TO LISDOONVARNA (mystery novel, Subterranean Press, 2001)
TRISKELL TALES: 22 YEARS OF CHAPBOOKS (collection, Subterranean Press, 2000)
FORESTS OF THE HEART (novel, Tor, 2000)
THE NEWFORD STORIES (collection, Science Fiction Book Club, 1999)
MOONLIGHT AND VINES (collection, Tor, 1999)
SOMEPLACE TO BE FLYING (novel, Tor, 1998)
TRADER (novel, Tor, 1996)
&nb
sp; JACK OF KINROWAN (omnibus, Orb, 1995)
THE IVORY AND THE HORN (collection, Tor, 1995)
MEMORY AND DREAM (novel, Tor, 1994)
THE WILD WOOD (novel, Bantam, 1994)
INTO THE GREEN (novel, Tor, 1993)
DREAMS UNDERFOOT (collection, Tor, 1993)
SPIRITWALK (collection, Tor, 1992)
HEDGEWORK AND GUESSERY (collection, Pulphouse, 1991)
THE LITTLE COUNTRY (novel, Morrow, 1991)
THE DREAMING PLACE (novel, Atheneum, 1990)
ANGEL OF DARKNESS (novel, as Samuel M. Key; Jove, 1990)
GHOSTWOOD (novel, Axolotl Press,1990)
DRINK DOWN THE MOON (novel, Ace, 1990)
SVAHA (novel, Ace, 1989)
WOLF MOON (novel, NAL, 1988)
GREENMANTLE (novel, Ace, 1988)
JACK, THE GIANT-KILLER (novel, Ace, 1987)
YARROW (novel, Ace, l986)
MULENGRO (novel, Ace, l985)
THE HARP OF THE GREY ROSE (novel, Starblaze, l985)
MOONHEART (novel, Ace, l984)
THE RIDDLE OF THE WREN (novel, Ace, l984)
###
Table of Contents
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Nineteen
Twenty
Twenty-One
Twenty-Two
Afterword
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Jack the Giant-Killer (Jack of Kinrowan Book 1) Page 20