Fallen Virtues

By Jeannie Meekins

In this final part of the adventure, Jack finds the last two elements to complete The Talisman. As he and his friends begin to heal the World, Septis takes and gains control of The Talisman.
To stop her destroying the World, they must enter the dragon’s domain and climb a mountain of bad magic to reach her castle at the top.
Time is against them. As the World is slowly taken over by darkness, its people begin to lose their virtues – the very essence of their being. Only Jack, an outside, is unaffected. Forced to confront Septis alone, he begins to understand the true nature of the evil that is destroying the World.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Storm Cloud Publishing
• Release date: Oct 12, 2015
• ISBN: 9781925285109

Jeannie Meekins

Jeannie Meekins is an Australian writer who lives with her children and a couple of cats who think they own the computer. And if her dog could read, he’d be jealous, so it’s lucky that he can’t. Jeannie has also written over 10 books for children, many available through LearningIsland.com

Book preview

Fallen Virtues

The Virtues of Drac: Book Three

Jeannie Meekins

Illustrated by AT Davidson

Fallen Virtues

The Virtues of Drac: Book Three

Text copyright (c) Jeannie Meekins (2013)

Editorial Associate Melissa Cleeman

Illustrator (c) AT Davidson (2015)

Published by Storm Cloud Publishing (2015)

https://www.facebook.com/StormCloudPublishing?fref=ts

ISBN: 978-1-925285-10-9 (Smashwords Edition)

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Junior Fiction:

In this final part of the adventure, Jack finds the last two elements to complete The Talisman. As he and his friends begin to heal the World, Septis takes and gains control of The Talisman.

To stop her destroying the World, they must enter the dragon’s domain and climb a mountain of bad magic to reach her castle at the top. With their virtues fading fast, Jack finds he must confront Septis alone.

Adventure quest, Children’s fantasy, Magic and Magical worlds, Hero’s journey, Fantasy creatures, Bullying and Ignorance, Conflict and Problem solving, Courage and Resourcefulness

Ages: 8 – 12 years

44, 663

Reading Level: 2.7

In this series:

The Virtues of Drac - contains all three books

Into the Land of Clubs (Book One)

Through the Land of Diamonds (Book Two)

Fallen Virtues (Book Three)

For my son, John, who gave me the idea and my daughter, Laura, who kept me going until I finished.

A big thank you to Melissa Cleeman for seeing more in this story than I ever realised I’d put into it and helped make it as good as it is today.

Thank you to AT Davidson for capturing the characters exactly as I saw them.

Contents

Chapter one

Chapter two

Chapter three

Chapter four

Chapter five

Chapter six

Chapter seven

Chapter eight

Chapter nine

Map

About the Author

About the Illustrator

Map

Back to top

Chapter one

The first step into the Land of Spades chilled Jack. He pulled The Talisman out. It was dull and felt cool, even though it had been in his warm pocket.

Where there is no magic, or in the presence of the evil, he muttered.

A quick look around and he was sure it was not Septis. He put The Talisman away and headed to the Far Hill.

All day, he travelled without rest. Even blindfolded, he felt he couldn’t get lost. He was drawn to it by the club; driven on by the diamond.

At dusk, the wind whipped up. He didn’t have to look up to know that it was the dragon heading to the Great Lake for its evening drink. He watched the beast return, trying to see exactly where on the hill it disappeared, but he was too far away.

A light fog began to cover the ground. Jack felt the moisture in the air clinging to him. His nose began to run. He wiped it on his sleeve, the cloth of his windcheater beginning to feel damp. His hands were in his pockets to try and keep warm.

He wanted to stop, but he wanted to keep moving. He felt he was being watched yet, every time he lifted his eyes from the ground, he was only met by the darkness of the forest. He tried to listen for the sounds of footsteps, for the sounds of whispering or even breathing. But he could hear nothing. He tried to hear what was, and not what he thought should be. But still he heard nothing, and that scared him more.

There were no owls or possums in the trees, no scurrying through the undergrowth, no chirping crickets or annoying insects. In that moment, he would have given anything for the familiar, annoying whine of a mosquito.

Jack wanted to find somewhere safe to snuggle down for the night. But nowhere was safe. He could feel the many pairs of eyes staring at him from the darkness. He wanted to wrap his blankets around him and rest with his back up against a tree or rock so nothing could sneak up behind him. But there were no rocks, and trees were as great a danger to him as any unseen enemy.

He pulled The Talisman out of his pocket. It still felt cold. He sighed and put it away. It would be of no help to him.

He stopped, deciding it was useless to go any further. The mist had risen above his ankles. Cold and clammy, it penetrated his runners, making his socks and feet feel wet. He took the blankets out of the bag, grateful that Jag had let him have both of them. He shivered as he pulled them both around himself and sat on the bag. It kept his backside off the damp ground – for now. He guessed the chill would come through. Condensation formed with each breath he took.

He wanted to light a fire, but that was not a technique he had mastered. Sure, he had managed to get the fire going back in the farmhouse. But he had hot coals to work with. And dry wood, he noted, as he wiped his damp face with the inside of a blanket. Here, he could barely even see the ground.

He drew his knees up and lowered his head to them, trying to make himself into a ball of warmth, and closed his eyes.

A few times he woke. Stiff, cold and uncomfortable. He couldn’t see the fog any more, but he could feel it as he breathed it in. He didn’t dream, here in the Land of Spades, but he could sense Septis pervading like the fog.

Morning found him curled up on the ground shivering. He was too cold to get up and move, though he knew that would warm him. He kept searching for the lost warmth of the blankets. He was using the bag for a pillow, yet he could see the dew on it in front of his face.

A chill trickled down his cheek; another ran into his eyes. The back of his neck was cold and he couldn’t feel his nose. The barest touches of sunlight were penetrating the depths of the trees and struggling to touch the ground. Jack watched the faint streaks gradually grow in number and brightness.

He threw off the blankets and ran to the nearest one. The message from his brain didn’t quite get through to his frozen body. His limbs ached and refused to do what they were told. His legs buckled as soon as he tried to put weight on them, dropping him back to the ground instead of lifting him up. He pushed himself up and staggered, almost falling, into the first beam of sunlight.

He slowly began to relax and stop shivering as the warmth of the sun hit him. It made him drowsy and he felt he could sleep easier now than he had all night.

But the sun moved across the sky, and the angles of penetration changed. The shafts of warmth disappeared every few minutes and Jack crawled after one that popped up a few inches away.

In the sun, he felt safe, but he knew he couldn’t chase the sun all day.

He looked across at the bag, still on the ground where he had lain. He hoped that there might still be some berries in it, but he knew that he had eaten them all. He was cold, tired and hungry, and he shifted across to the next beam of warmth.

Eventually, he had to move. He grabbed the bag, searched in vain for anything that might be inside it, then shoved the damp blankets in.

He looked up. The black peak of the Far Hill could be seen through gaps in the tree canopy; the sky almost white behind it in the early morning light.

Jack rolled his stiff ankles and wriggled his cold toes. Full feeling and control began to return. Then he slung the bag over his shoulder and set off.

He looked around for the things that Jag had told him were edible. But the Land of Spades was different from the Land of Diamonds, and he found nothing that looked the same. The Talisman wasn’t working, so he couldn’t even use the club to help him find anything, or to tell him if what he did find was even edible.

Great, he thought. I won’t even have the strength to fight the dragon when I do get there.

By late afternoon, Jack was barely looking where he was going. His head drooped and his feet dragged on the ground. And he was not even surprised when he noticed that the sun seemed to be going around the Far Hill instead of over it. The brightness of day never took the darkness from the Hill.

Suddenly, Jack felt something close tightly around his ankle. His foot was ripped out from underneath him, and he was jerked upside down. His hands hit the ground, his head was lucky not to, before he was pulled upwards by his foot.

He panicked as he thought a tree had grabbed him and he could hear the thrashing of branches and leaves. It was several long seconds later before he regained his bearings and found himself dangling from a rope several metres from the ground.

From the distance, he could hear excited voices and crashing through the undergrowth.

We’ve got it.

Come on.

Quick, before it gets away.

Be careful. Hurry.

Jack twisted himself about to look at the approaching upside down figures. The bag slipped down, bunching up at the back of his neck while the straps pulled under his armpits.

Within a minute, he was encircled by a dozen creatures dressed in what looked like animal skins. Each one held a long spear pointed in his direction. Their hair was black. Pulled into a top knot, it was trimmed to be flat while the rest fell down and round their faces, forming a pointed beard in the older ones. Their skin was darker than Clubs, more weathered by the elements; their faces painted to blend in with the light and shadows of the forest.

Jack tried to turn his head up the right way so he could make them out properly. They had to be Spades. He couldn’t figure out what else they could be.

That’s not the dragon, a young voice piped up.

Hush, Shauna, the man beside her quietened.

She’s right, I’m not a dragon, Jack spoke loudly.

A loud rumble went through the group and Jack saw a second ring of spearwielding Spades outside the first.

It might be good bait, someone decided, prodding at Jack with his spear, and there were murmurs of agreement.

The dragon will pass this way soon. It will be nightfall in an hour.

Jack began to shake. He had no intention of being dragon food. Get me down.

Perhaps we should. The man next to Shauna rested the butt of his spear on the ground, and thoughtfully stroked his beard with his free hand.

We don’t know what it is, Nelma his friend cautioned.

It’s a boy, Papa, Shauna cut in. Even I can see that.

Get me down, Jack repeated.

Or what? one asked him.

Fine, I’ll get myself down. Jack concentrated, calling on the strength of the diamond. The Talisman hadn’t worked all day. But perhaps it would, now that he needed it. The same as it did just before Septis’ approach. He only needed a fraction of a second to snap the rope that held his foot.

Nothing happened. He felt no surge of strength coursing through his body. He yelled and struggled vainly against the rope.

The Spades merely laughed, jeering at him with their spears.

Go on. Get yourself down, one laughed.

Jack gave up in frustration and hung limply upside down. His ankle hurt from the tight rope, and he felt his own weight pulling down through his knee and his hip. His other leg seemed to dangle loosely, having no idea of where it should be.

A cool breeze fanned his sweaty forehead. The Spades lost interest in him. They backed into the cover of the undergrowth, their faces looking to the sky.

Jack felt the chill go straight through him. He looked up past his captured foot to the sky. The wind came in its rhythmic blasts; the huge bulk of the creature blocked most of his sight.

The trees groaned loudly in protest, forced to bow down under the relentless pressure of the wind. Claws reached down and grasped the topmost branches. The wind eased as the mighty creature settled to rest. Its massive wingspan blocked out the forest beneath it. Once settled, it folded its wings. The wind stopped, the trees slowly lifted up again and the light filtered to the forest floor.

Jack froze, holding his breath. He remembered what Jag had said about the dragon’s sight and smell, and he tried to remain invisible.

The creature turned its head. Smoke filtered from the nostrils at the end of its long, flat face. Its mouth opened slightly, its pink tongue running smoothly over large, jagged teeth. A long tail thrashed across the treetops, its tip slashing through the foliage.

There it is.

Jack heard the whisper,