The Chariot: Brothers at Arms

by Desiree Lee

  "Yes. The movies and books about vampires killing mortals are very misleading. It is not necessary to inflict undue violence upon a person, unless they fight back. A vampire will avoid detection at all costs. If the mortal is in danger of giving away the vampire's identity, then the mortal's life is in danger. Some vampire houses have donors who live there."

  "Donors? People who just live there solely to be vampire fodder?"

  "Yes. François has a few, but I prefer to hunt. Our House tries to hunt more so that we do not drain our donors too much."

  "So they are not just like cattle to you?"

  "More like chickens, actually.” She held in a smirk. “They're kept in wire cages."

  "Are you serious?"

  "No, of course not! They are members of our House, of our family! I was joking!"

  "What sort of person willingly lets a vampire bite them?” Julio was boggled.

  "You would be surprised."

  "So far I am."

  "Some people enjoy the sensation of the bite. To some it is like an addiction. Remember that our bite can be pleasurable. Some people love that feeling of pleasure so much, they do not care that it means losing blood for it."

  "Over time does your feeding take a toll on a person?"

  "I don't know. I have not seen any studies on the effects of long term donation."

  "Now you mock me,” he frowned.

  "No, I do not. There are vampires in the scientific community who research a wide variety of issues pertaining to our nature."

  He eased a little at her explanation. “What happens to the donors for your House?"

  "Whatever they want. If they want to leave, they are free to as long as they keep the secret. If they want to be turned then they can ask François. If he agrees then they remain in the House as part of the vampire family. We have several in our House who were formerly donors."

  "What if a Keeper wants to become a vampire? I am not saying I do, I am just curious.” He quickly added in the last bit.

  "That is not unheard of either. Pierre has a former Keeper in his House. We do not as of yet."

  "Oh, ok.” He ruminated on that for a few minutes. “Do you need to go do that hunt now then? Or did you mean later tonight?"

  "I guess I will go now. I don't think Luke will be back tonight. Just do me a favor please and don't go anywhere without me?"

  Julio sat and thought about that a moment. The thought of living under a vampire's lock and key still did not sit well with him. What else did he have to do tonight though? There was nothing particularly pressing that he could think of. “Ok. I have some shows that I recorded. I will just sit here and watch them."

  "Thanks.” Michelle gave him a smile of genuine appreciation.

  "Just...” he trailed off.

  "Just what?"

  "Just don't get blood on my shirt if you can help it please?"

  Michelle looked down to see that she was still wearing his Buccaneers shirt. “Oh that's no problem. Feeding is not messy. Again, the movies like to sensationalize the act. They like to show a ravenous, blood-starved vampire tearing in to the flesh of a mortal but it is rarely like that. Usually it is more like a sensual kiss."

  "Sorry, I didn't know that."

  "Now you do.” Her tone wasn't condescending. In fact, it was downright pleasant. She went and put her shoes on then headed for the door. “Be back soon."

  "Happy, um, hunting?” Julio gave her a sheepish look. Michelle laughed and left the house, hoping that she wasn't making a huge mistake by leaving the Keeper alone.

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  Chapter Six

  Julio found he had little patience for television. He had tried to watch the programs he recorded, but couldn't concentrate. He got up and paced the living room a few times. What was he doing? He had slept with a vampire. While this particular vampire was gorgeous and terrific in bed, she was still a vampire.

  He went out to the studio. Normally he preferred to work in daylight, but he had several bright lamps set up overhead for times like this. He flipped the switches on and stood in the doorway, staring in at the sculpture representing Evelia. He sighed heavily. It felt like he was living a completely different life now. He was not sorry about breaking up with Evelia, but his memories of the time in his life when they were together seemed far more distant today than they had yesterday. He walked over to the sculpture, running his hand along the edges, checking for rough spots. This piece was going to be sold so he did not want to leave any dangerous sharp areas on it.

  "Who is she?"

  Julio wheeled around at the sound of the voice behind him. He saw a tall man standing in the doorway from the house to the garage. Though Julio had never laid eyes on this man before, he recognized the voice. “You must be Luke?"

  "Yes, I am. Pleased to meet you."

  "Why are you here? I thought you had left earlier."

  "Michelle thought she could steal the Keeper from me but she is wrong. She is young, inexperienced. I'll blame a little bit on that. She is misguided though. The war is coming here but it doesn't have to. It can be ended."

  "How can it be ended? From what I'm told, they've been fighting for centuries."

  "Two hundred-fifty years, that is true,” Luke nodded. He hadn't moved from the doorway. “This petty grudge has gone on far too long. François has dragged it out for too many years. Too many good people have died over this."

  "Petty grudge? What started this war anyway? Nobody has been able to tell me that so far.” Julio took a quick glance around. What sort of weapon would work against a vampire? A cross? A stake? It didn't matter because he didn't have either of those here. His nail gun was on the other side of the studio. Of course, nothing was in easy reach when he wanted them to be.

  Luke stepped down in to the garage and Julio took a step backward, putting the sculpture of Evelia between himself and the vampire. “Don't come any closer."

  Luke stopped and nodded. “You don't trust me. I can understand that. It is always difficult for a new Keeper."

  "Especially one who didn't know he was a Keeper until it was too late,” Julio muttered.

  "What?” Luke looked genuinely confused.

  "My mother chose to keep our family legacy a secret from me. She only told me about it when I received the card."

  "No wonder you are so disturbed by this. At least it was explained to you after you received the card, right? You know what your duty is?"

  "Yeah, I keep the card for fifty years and then send it on to the next person."

  "There is more to it than that Julio. You are the person who chooses the dominant faction in this city."

  "I thought that was already established because Michelle found me first."

  "She would like you to believe that. No Julio, you must choose. I would heartily recommend getting all of the facts together before you make your choice. You can turn the tide of this conflict and help usher in the final days of it."

  "By choosing Pierre's side...” Julio assumed where he was going with the conversation.

  "Yes."

  "What are these facts that I need to know?” Julio was incredulous. So far he didn't think he had a choice in the matter. Both his mother and Michelle seemed apologetic about it but now this man, Luke, was offering him a choice? He could somehow end the war? Well if that happened then perhaps Julio could get back to his normal life, a life without vampires. “Wait. First tell me how the war started."

  "It began over a woman.” Luke's tone held a measure of disdain. “She was Pierre's wife. François coveted her. He seduced her, wooed her away from his brother. As you can probably guess, this did not sit well with Pierre. They fought. The problem is, the brothers are nearly equally matched, being twins."

  "They're twins? I didn't know that much."

  "Yes, they are twins, carbon copies of each other. They are close in strength and power so they each brought their houses in to the fighting. People, vampire and mortal alike, died on both sides."

>   "What about the woman? The one they were fighting over? Why didn't she just make a choice and end it? Why didn't she just tell Pierre she wanted to be with François instead?"

  "François employed some dirty tricks. He addled her mind as part of his seduction. He coerced her in to his bed. Oh she thought she went willingly but François admitted eventually that he had tampered with her thoughts and her desires. When she regained her senses and truly saw what had happened, she did make the choice that she thought would end it. She committed suicide."

  "Let me guess. Each brother blames the other for her death and that is why the fighting never stopped."

  "Very astute,” Luke nodded affirmative. “Pierre wants the conflict to end. He believes that brothers should not be so diametrically opposed. He wants to resolve the war, to end the fighting and the deaths. François will not hear of it. He fuels this battle with his lies, his corruption. He perpetuates beating this dead horse. No matter how many more die, he will not give it up."

  "So how does Pierre propose to end this war?"

  "That is where you come in. If you choose him to lead this city, he'll have a larger power base. He'll finally be able to beat François."

  "And if he does?"

  "Then François concedes and it is over."

  "Just like that?"

  "Just like that,” Luke nodded.

  Julio stood there for a few moments, considering the vampire's words. Michelle had told him that Luke was the one that made her a vampire so it was obvious that Luke was older than her and more powerful. Perhaps it meant he was wiser too. At least he had answers for Julio about how the war started. “I need time to think it over."

  "Time is a precious commodity. You only have a couple days before the convoys arrive from California and the determination will be made as to who has this city."

  "They can get here that fast? I figured it would take at least a week."

  "They will not stop except to get fuel and maybe for a moment to switch drivers when one gets tired. The drivers will rotate. Some will sleep while others drive and then they'll trade off. They will come as fast as they can and stay moving until they get here. I am sure that Michelle must have called François as soon as she could to report that the Keeper had been found, just as I called Pierre."

  "I don't understand how being here first gives the victor a larger power base?"

  "That part I am not permitted to explain, sorry. Suffice to say that it does."

  "I will think on it and have my answer by tomorrow."

  "Answer for what?” Both Luke and Julio were surprised to hear the feminine voice. Luke turned quickly to see Michelle standing behind him.

  "You're back early,” Luke said. “I figured you'd be gone until just before dawn."

  "You're in my way. Get out of here Luke. You need to learn to accept defeat more graciously."

  "You need to take your own advice Michelle."

  Julio frowned slightly at the exchange. His expression only soured more when he saw Luke sniffing the air.

  "You smell of him,” Luke accused. “You slept with him? You slept with the Keeper? So soon after getting here?"

  "That's none of your business,” Julio growled, stepping closer to the vampires. Even though he knew that Michelle was far stronger than him, he still had a deep-seeded thread of chivalry inside. He wouldn't stand to see a woman bullied in his own house.

  "As he said Luke, it is none of your business. I suggest you leave before things get ugly. I'm giving you this one chance to go without harm. This chance is reserved for you and you alone."

  Julio could tell that Michelle was conflicted. He heard it in her tone and he was sure that Luke must have too. Whether she was giving Luke this chance out of some lingering respect for her maker or whether she still had unresolved feelings for the man, he didn't know, but there was obviously something she still carried deep inside. Something that made her really not want to fight Luke. Perhaps she was just afraid she'd lose.

  "We both know I could kill you where you stand, Michelle."

  "You'd die trying, Luke. I am not as weak as you think I am."

  "You're not as strong as you think you are,” Luke countered. He paused and turned back to face Julio. “Remember what I said. You have the power to enact change. Make the right decision Julio, for all of our sakes.” He walked past Michelle, stepping around the sullen vampire.

  Julio sat there for several long minutes after Luke departed, not saying anything to Michelle.

  "Are you alright?” Michelle asked him, looking him over as if Luke may have done something to the Keeper.

  "Yeah, I am,” Julio fibbed. To him it was only a half-fib. Luke had not done anything physically but he had given Julio some food for thought.

  "May I see your artwork?” Michelle peered in to the studio from the doorway.

  "Sure, come on in,” Julio invited, glad to change the subject for the moment.

  Michelle walked in to the studio and over to the sculpture of Evelia. “This is interesting. I would never have thought to combine these materials to create art."

  "I got the idea from seeing another artist's work years ago. It just struck me as something very creative and unique. When I started seeing the pieces in my head, my creative streak ignited and bada-bing, bada-boom, my passion was born."

  "Is this modeled after anybody in particular?” She reached toward the sculpture, stopping short of actually touching it."

  "My ex-girlfriend Evelia. Once I sell this piece, then it is like she is out of my life for good. Did you ever hear the phrase ‘art imitates life?’ Well, I take that to heart. Whenever I have something major in my life, it helps me to work it out or get through it if I do it through my art. It is my therapy, you might say. This piece symbolizes a part of my life that is not there anymore; one that I don't want there anymore. Once it's gone then it adds a bit of finality. Do you understand what I mean?"

  "I do. It is something I wish I'd had when Luke left. If it were only so easy to make a sculpture of him and attach my feelings to it, I could have gotten over him ages ago."

  "Listen, Luke told me some things that I need to know if they are true or not. Did François really start the war by seducing Pierre's wife?"

  "What?” Michelle stood there dumbfounded. “No, François would never do that. He has never mentioned anything of the sort. The war was started by Pierre."

  "Are you certain?” He looked at her with piercing scrutiny.

  Michelle thought she had a dozen answers ready but every one of them faltered on the tip of her tongue. Was she sure? She had never heard anything before about François being the instigator. “I've not heard anything like that."

  Julio nodded, though he noticed she deftly sidestepped the real question. She had answered, and probably truthfully, but he was still dissatisfied with her reply. “I don't mean to be rude but I would like to work alone in my studio for a while. I have some finishing touches I need to add to this piece."

  Michelle went back in to the house and closed the door behind her. Julio went back to what he had been doing when Luke arrived. His thoughts ran a mile a minute. Michelle either didn't know the story or she was trying to deliberately hide it from him. Either way, it sounded fishy. Even if the story about François was not true, Julio would have thought that everyone in his House would be privy to it, if at the very least for François to refute it.

  He took a few steps back and looked at the sculpture once more. “It's done,” he murmured under his breath. He would do no more to it except to list it online for sale, then pack it up and ship it once it did sell. He walked to one of the cabinets lining the wall and took a digital camera out of it. He kept one in the garage specifically for taking photographs of his art to show with the online listings. He took numerous shots, then erased them and started over. He knew he was only killing time here. He did not want to go back in the house and face Michelle yet. He glanced at his watch and saw that the hour had grown much later than he originally thought. Dawn
would be breaking soon. Michelle would have to go under cover of darkness in his room. He'd be able to have time alone.

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  Chapter Seven

  Tampa Bay was uncharacteristically tranquil. Though clouds loomed overhead, the view from the Howard Frankland Bridge was unrestricted. The mortals craned their necks for their first glimpse at the body of water, darkly hued today due to the weather. They were close. They were so close.

  They had the address that Michelle had provided for their new house in St. Petersburg. Crossing in to Pinellas County, mid-span on the bridge, one last milestone was reached. At the other end of the bridge was the new battleground. The warriors had arrived.

  The past two days had been tense for Julio and Michelle. She had tried to initiate conversation but Julio often rebuffed her.

  Typical man, she had thought. Fuck him once and he forgets all about you afterward. He did help her find a new house though, and she had appreciated that. He even gave her a piece of his artwork to hang on the wall of her new room. It was one she had noticed hanging on his wall and had commented about it so he told her she could take it. She had thanked him, of course, but did not let on how much the gesture really touched her.

  Michelle had to admit that she and Julio had spent much of the past few days working too. Maybe that was why he was so terse with her. She could chalk it up to exhaustion. The windows needed to be prepared for the vampires’ arrival. They would have to be boarded over, but not appear so from the outside. Inside, the boards would eventually be covered by tapestries or other art pieces. It would be near impossible to tell from the inside that a window had even existed there.

  The trucks arrived at the house and the mortals began unloading the furniture and boxes. They were all tired from the long drive, but there was no time for loafing. They had the benefit of a few hours of daylight left and could not waste it. When the vampires awoke at dusk, they would want to settle into the new house immediately. Though the entire house could not be set up in that time, at least the sleeping quarters could be. Essentials first, aesthetics later.