Avenging Autumn: Seasons Change Book 1 of 4

by Derek A. Schneider

  “And the two skeletons that are out there?”

  “They were vampires from another clan who once tried to assassinate me. They are stabbed through the heart. I keep them there as a warning to others who entertain such foolish ideas.”

  “You still have to feed on people, doesn’t that make you evil?”

  “Actually, the servants give blood to us voluntarily; I like to drink mine out of a wine glass. It’s so much more civi-lized then gnawing on some poor fellow’s throat. That’s not to say we don’t have the occasional rouge vampire, who reverts to the old ways and runs around killing innocents and sucking them dry, but they are usually captured and punished.”

  “Usually?”

  “Well, there is Deppleo.”

  “Who is Deppleo?”

  “Deppleo is the god of all vampires. When your Christian god said ‘let there be light’, Deppleo was born in the shadows that light cast. Through the ages he has thrived on slaughtering mortals and drinking them dry and to this day his hate and disdain for humans has not subsided. He is the only being I answer to.”

  “How does he feel about the way you treat mortals now days?”

  “He doesn’t care, as long as the vampire population continues to grow, he is satisfied.”

  “So, he’s the only one that kills mortals for blood?”

  “Well, he and the Wintermen, but they don’t matter right now because it isn’t winter and we’re getting quite off the subject. Deppleo has left it to me to bring your situation to a close, and as far as I can see, I only have two options.

  “Option number one; fight you to the death to save the life of one of my children, which I assure you, would be a very swift fight.”

  Benny had no trouble believing that.

  “Or, option two; turn Odin Sway over to you and let you have your revenge.”

  “So, what’s your choice?” Benny asked, suddenly feeling uneasy

  “You will meet Odin and I in the courtyard after sun-set, by then I will have my decision.”

  Benny stood and walked to the door.

  “I sympathize with you Mr. Writeman,” Vlad said from his chair without turning to look at the young man, “I too was in love once, long ago, in my mortal days. She also died before her time, although her life was taken by her own hand. The man I’d become, and the acts I had committed drove her to it. I had no thirst for revenge, so I did the next best thing; I lost my mind. I renounced my Christian god and went on a rampage, never quenching my desire to spill the blood of others in the most sickening ways I could imagine. Of course my deeds caught the attention of the vampire god, and his gift only amplified my rage.”

  Vlad then turned and looked Benny in the eyes, “Mr. Writeman, you must know that Odin is beaten down by the guilt he feels for what he has done to your wife. He is a shat-tered image of the man he once was.”

  Benny turned from Vlad, feeling a hot tear spill down his face, and said in a quivering voice; “Aren’t we all?”

  Vlad stared at the young mortals back as he left the library, and in a whisper said, “I suppose we are.”

  Benny, Autumn, and Frank returned to their camp-site, where Benny retold everything that he heard from Vlad.

  “So basically, he’s saying Odin Sway was controlled by the five masters we took out in Gary,” Frank said when Benny stopped talking.

  “Yeah, that’s the gist of it,” Benny replied.

  “Do you believe him?”

  “It seems to fit, especially if you consider Odin’s behavior when we last saw him.”

  Frank turned to the dead girl, “What do you think, Autumn?”

  “It’s the truth,” Autumn returned, “I don’t think he had any desire to kill me, and I’m sure he took no pleasure in it.”

  Frank said; “So, with this new information, do we go on or turn back?”

  “There is no turning back,” Benny stated, “not for me.”

  “Benny, you’d be killing an innocent man.”

  A confused expression flowed over Benny’s face, “Dad, what do you think we’ve been doing all this time? Ac-cording to Vlad, none of these vampires have ever taken a life, and you’ve killed more of them than any of us.”

  Frank plopped down heavily on an overturned tree trunk. “Your right, the five in Gary should have been the only ones to die.”

  “Besides,” Benny continued, “Odin is the last one, when he’s dead Autumn will finally be able to rest in peace. We’ll stay here until night fall, then go and find out what Vlad’s decision is.”

  The other two agreed and Frank pulled out the last of the sandwiches they had gotten at a gas station back before they left civilization behind. They ate what very well could be their last meal.

  Nightfall came and the three Writemans made their way up to the courtyard to find only Vlad and Odin waiting for them. Benny felt relief at this, but Frank, as if reading his mind, leaned in and spoke in his ear. “Stay alert; there could be more hiding in the shadows.”

  Autumn took Benny’s hand in hers, “Its Halloween night you know?” she said quietly.

  Benny thought about it a moment, “Oh yeah, I sup-pose it is. Well, Happy Halloween, we certainly are in a fitting situation for it.”

  “Yeah, Happy Halloween.”

  The courtyard was dimly lit by torches that ran along the edge of the circle, one placed between each of the impaled bodies.

  Benny stopped at the end of the bridge with Frank and Autumn just behind him. Vlad approached them from the center of the courtyard.

  “Benjamin Writeman,” he said in the same polite manner as before, “I’m glad you have come, after meeting you today I realized that I have only been thinking of a way to get Odin out of this mess and I never intended to hand him over to you. I was wrong to think this way. You are both suffering, and you are both honorable men, so a third option accrued to me. We will let your swords decide who dies.”

  Benny suddenly felt his heart drop into his stomach.

  “That doesn’t really seem fair,” Frank interjected.

  “Odin will not use any of his vampire abilities,” Vlad replied, “only his fencing skills. You, Mr. Writeman, may use any weapons at your disposal.”

  Benny thought on this a moment, then he pulled the AK-47 off his back and laid it on the ground. Next, he pulled two 9mm pistols from their holster and cast them aside, keep-ing only his sword and a wooden stake that was hidden in his jacket.

  “Indeed you are noble,” Vlad said, “Just keep in mind, Odin is almost two hundred years old and has practiced his technique since he was a child.”

  Benny stared at Odin, trying hard to read his expres-sion, but could find nothing there.

  Old stone face returns.

  “I have been made aware,” Benny said.

  “Very well, then you will each say your goodbyes to your loved ones.”

  Benny turned to his father and smiled, “Well, old man, it’s been some adventure, huh?”

  “You say that as if you were going to lose,” Frank said sternly, “you just remember everything I taught you and you’ll do fine.”

  Benny was confused again. “What are you talking about?”

  “Come on, Benny, when you were a kid didn’t you ever wonder why I took all those light saber battles so serious-ly?”

  “What are you saying, Dad, that you were secretly training me to sword fight a vampire when I was a kid?”

  “Of course not,” Frank laughed, “but I did always try to teach you boys how to defend yourselves in just about any situation I could think of. Some ways were just a little more subtle than others.”

  Benny smiled and hugged his father, Frank returned his embrace. Without another word, Frank walked away to leave Benny and Autumn alone.

  He held his wife for a long moment before speaking. “I will not say goodbye to you again,” he whispered in her ear.

  “I know you’ll win,” Autumn said in a quiet voice, “and, when the time comes, we’ll be together again.”

&n
bsp; Benny nodded, took a deep breath and returned his gaze to Odin Sway. The vampire stood motionless, his face showing no anger or fear, no excitement or pleasure, only the blankness of a dead man.

  Benny pulled his sword from its sheath slowly, letting the moon light gleamed off the solid silver blade. Odin held up his walking cane and pulled it apart revealing the long, straight blade that was concealed inside.

  They stood in silence for a moment with the others watching them quietly from beyond the courtyard.

  It was Benny that made the first move.

  He ran swiftly at the vampire with his blade held low and trailing behind him. When he was close enough, he brought the sword up in a wide arch. Odin stepped to his right, barely avoiding the hit.

  Benny spun with the swords momentum bringing it again to Odin’s left side. There was a high clang as the swords met for the first time.

  Odin then brought his sword in toward his body and lunged forward in a jab. Benny blocked the attack, preventing it from entering his chest, but still felt the blade puncture his left shoulder. A low moan escaped his lips.

  Still, the vampire showed no emotion, he only pulled the blade out of Benny’s shoulder and repositioned himself for the next attack.

  Benny then leapt into the air with his sword raised high above his head, bringing it down hard against Odin’s blade. The force of the attack knocked the vampire off his feet. Landing on his back, he brought his sword up just in time to block another swing from Benny. After a quick roll he was back on his feet blocking another hard hit.

  Back swinging his blade, Benny was amazed at his opponent’s agility, as he dodged the attack completely. Odin gave another thrust and again Benny blocked it, but again felt the vampire’s sword enter his left shoulder. He felt warm blood flow from the large wound.

  Wiping his hand on his pants, Benny looked back at Odin. The vampire’s white suit was covered in dirt and grass stains, his normally neat hair was loose and hanging over his face.

  Still, there was no emotion there.

  Again, Benny ran toward Odin with his sword held low, this time he swung the blade up diagonally, but again, Odin stepped out of the way.

  The vampire thrust his sword at Benny’s chest once more and again Benny blocked it, but as the creature’s blade came toward his right shoulder, Benny spun, using his right hand to slip the wooden stake out of his jacket and drive the tip into Odin’s heart.

  With a gasp, Odin fell forward into Benny’s arms, and Benny gently laid the vampire down on his back.

  As he knelt over Odin, Benny could see tears flowing from the vampire’s eyes and a great sorrow in his once emo-tionless face.

  “I’m so sorry, Ben,” Odin sobbed. His left hand was laying limp at his side with his sword still slightly gripped. His right hand was gripping Benny’s shoulder. “I didn’t want to hurt her.”

  “I know, Odin,” Benny said, and now he began to cry, partly because he knew now that Odin was innocent in all of this, but mostly because he knew that when Odin fell, a few yards behind him, his wife fell as well.

  “Can…can you forgive me before I die?” the vampire pleaded.

  “Only if you do me one favor first,” Benny replied.

  “Anything.”

  Benny swallowed hard and forced himself to say the words. “Kill me.”

  “What!” Odin exclaimed.

  “I have avenged my wife, Odin, when you die, so will she, for good this time. And when I die, who knows how many years from now, we’ll be together again. I don’t want to wait,” Benny began to weep harder, “I don’t w-want to w-wait. Kill me…and all will be forgiven.”

  Without another word, Odin positioned his sword over Benny’s chest and pushed the blade into his heart.

  Frank stood silently next to Autumn as they watched Benny pull the stake from his jacket and plunge it into Odin’s chest. As Benny slowly lowered the vampire to the ground, Autumn collapsed at Frank’s feet.

  “Autumn!” he exclaimed with concern as he knelt down beside her. “So, this is it, huh?”

  “Yes,” Autumn replied weakly, “when Odin Sway dies, so will I. Benny has avenged me, isn’t that romantic?”

  Frank stroked her hair, “Yeah, it sure is, pumpkin. At least I get to tell you goodbye this time.”

  Autumn smiled, “Goodbye, Frank.”

  “Goodbye, Autumn,” at that moment, Frank heard Benny’s voice rise slightly, the only words he could make out were; “kill me”, but that’s really all he needed to hear. He gently lay Autumn down and began to walk toward his son.

  Suddenly, Benny lurched and rolled over, Frank could see Odin’s blade protruding from his son’s chest.

  “Benny!” Frank shouted, now running to the limp figure lying on the ground. He stopped and knelt down beside his son, at first only staring at him in disbelief. Why had he asked Odin to kill him?

  “Why, Benny?” he whispered through his tears, knowing he would get no answer. Benny Writeman was dead.

  “Mr. Writeman,” Vlad said from over his shoulder, “would you please come with me?”

  Frank didn’t move.

  “Please,” Vlad pleaded, “we haven’t much time.”

  Frank stood and stared at the ancient creature that now spoke to him.

  “We must leave the dead alone for the moment, if you would come with me you will see why.”

  The Old Man finally gave in (out of curiosity) and followed the vampire to the castle doors.

  Inside the castle, Vlad led Frank to a staircase that stood a short distance to the immediate right of the entrance. They climbed only five steps, when Vlad turned quickly around, black robes flapping with the vampires momentum, and directed Frank to sit on a step near a tall window that looked out onto the courtyard. Vlad sat down quietly on the step above him and placed his hand on Frank‘s shoulder.

  “Watch closely,” the vampire said, pointing out the window.

  Through the window, Frank could see the bodies of his son and Odin Sway lying in the middle of the courtyard. About ten yards from them lay the body of his daughter-in-law.

  After a few moments he noticed some movement and realized that Benny was slowly standing up. Frank’s face lit up with a smile, but it faded quickly when he noticed how strange his son looked. It wasn’t Benny standing up; it was a shimmering blue, translucent image of him. A second later he saw a similar image standing up from Autumn’s body.

  “It is their spirit’s that you see,” Vlad said quietly, as if speaking to loud might scare them away.

  The two ghostly figures only stared at each other for a moment, and then Benny ran to his wife and took her in his arms. Frank stared in awe. The embrace seemed to last an eternity, and the old man didn’t want to see it end. The spirits finally came apart and as Benny ran his hand through Au-tumn’s hair, Frank could see, even from this distance, how deeply they cared for one another.

  “Their love must have been great,” Vlad said.

  “Yeah,” the old man replied, “yeah it was.”

  The two spirits ran across the bridge, hand in hand, and disappeared into the woods.

  Frank began to sob uncontrollably. Vlad’s hand re-mained on the Old Man’s shoulder for a moment longer, then he stood and walked back down the stairs, leaving Frank to his sorrow.

  After a long while, Frank came into the library where Vlad sat in silent thought, staring into the fire place.

  “I’m sorry about that,” Frank started, “I don’t usually break down that way.”

  “It’s alright; we have both lost children this week. For men like us tears are our only therapy.”

  “Yeah, I’m sorry about that as well, I had no idea they weren’t in control of themselves.”

  “It’s alright, you were only defending yourselves, and it is all in the past as far as I’m concerned. Let us start anew.”

  “I’d like that.”

  “Please, take a seat; I am having a dinner prepared for you now.”

  As Frank sat down a lou
d howling arose on the wind outside.

  “Werewolves?” the Old Man inquired.

  Vlad grinned, “Yes, they cry for Odin Sway,” Seeing the puzzled look on Frank’s face, Vlad elaborated, “Odin was the only vampire alive that could communicate with them telepathically. Over the course of his life he built a very strong bond with them.”

  “That certainly explains a lot about what happened in the graveyard and the cornfield.”

  Vlad smiled broadly, “Yes, I’ve heard that story, a most impressive victory for the Writeman clan. Mr. Writeman, I consider you a friend now.”

  “Then please, call me Frank.”

  “Very well, Frank, as a result of our friendship you will no longer have to worry about attacks from the vampires of my clan. The other clans will not get involved in our busi-ness either. However, the werewolves now see you as an ene-my. I don’t think they will attack you out of respect for me, but you should tread lightly. One more act against them could result in the entire werewolf community coming down on you.”

  “Understood,” Frank said.

  “If you have questions about anything, please don’t hesitate to ask.”

  Frank thought on this a moment and then said; “The weeping willow tree in the woods. I am curious as to how you managed to create such a creature.”

  “Witchcraft, of course,” Vlad said plainly.

  “You know witches?”

  “One or two.”

  As Frank processed this new information, the door to the library opened then and a human servant entered declaring that dinner was served.

  Over the next week, Frank stayed at the castle as Vlad’s guest and learned everything he could about vampires, werewolves and the vampire god, Deppleo.

  At night, Frank walked the halls of the castle, meet-ing many vampires who called the impressive structure their home. Much to the old man’s surprise none of them seemed to hold a grudge against him and was actually quite polite. During the day those same halls were completely deserted, with the exception of a few servants and Vlad of course.