Valkyrie Rising

by GR Griffin

  Brahms thought her so weak, so easy to seduce into damning herself. She held back her despairing moan, knowing that in the moments that had just passed, she had put up little to no fight, the blood seducing her. Silmeria had never realized she was so weak willed before becoming a vampire, and yet now she was faced with a temptation she found hard to resist.

  "I...I will NEVER feed!" She announced, struggling with her claws. Brahms put an arm around her waist, attempting to keep her plastered against him as his other hand reached for her trapped one. The arm around her waist was like steel, immovable and unbendable to her will. But the hand that touched hers, the fingers that worked her claws free of the fabric, was gentle.

  "Silmeria, love...it is inevitable." Brahms' tone was calm, causal. As though what he said hadn't the power to destroy her world. She refused to react to the endearment, mustering her anger instead to argue against the latter.

  "Never!" Silmeria hissed at him. But she let him work her claws free, noting the way he lingered over each finger, actually tracing the nail of each. "I will die first! Do you hear me?! I will die before I ever drink someone's life!"

  His own gaze hardened, his hand gripping her wrist now. "That will never happen. You may drive yourself mad in the process of starving yourself, but there will come a time when you will feed. The predator in you won't allow you to let yourself starve."

  "You mean the monster in me!" She shot back in retort. "Only a monster could have these urges...be driven by the perverse inclinations brought on by the sight and smell of blood!" Silmeria didn't care if she hurt herself, she was that desperate to get away from Brahms. But she knew even if she fled to the other side of the room, the blood would torment her. As would the memories of the moments leading up to her nearly feeding off Brahms' throat.

  "There is nothing perverse in doing what is needed to keep on living." Brahms seemed to barely be exerting himself in holding her prisoner.

  "Not perverse?" She hadn't failed to notice his arousal, his erection straining the material over his crotch. She didn't dare touch it, not even to brush against it with her body, but she did call attention to it. "You find this natural? Normal, to be so aroused when a monster is about to take your neck?!" He had the grace to look embarrassed, but Brahms did not apologize for the state she had driven him to.

  "Feeding and being fed upon can be a pleasurable thing." Brahms said in way of defense. "As you are well aware of." A pointed look from him, Silmeria flushing in response. Did his gaze linger on her breasts, her stiff nipples all too damning evidence of her own interest stirred by hunger and the arousing images that had flashed through her mind?

  "It's wrong..." Silmeria whispered. "It is wrong to feel pleasure when harming another...or when being harmed..."

  "A vampire's bite need not lead to death. I already told you that." Brahms tone was dismissive. "Where is the wrong in giving some pleasure back for the nourishment we receive...?"

  "You're trying to justify it!" Silmeria voice wasn't as forceful as she would have liked. "When the truth is the pleasure is just a tool, one used to lull your victims into compliance! Its far easier to feed if they don't fight you, isn't it?!" Before he could come up with some feeble protest, Silmeria was continuing. "And what of the other undead? The monsters that feed on something far worse than blood?! Do they lull they're victims with pleasure to hide the pain of their flesh being consumed?"

  "No." He seemed to deflate then, actually letting go of her. Silmeria immediately backed up, not trusting Brahms or herself in so close quarters. "Those monsters can only offer their chosen prey pain..." She didn't feel smug by his admittance, Silmeria just felt frustrated. Sad even. "There's no justifying what they do." Brahms continued. "They are a despised existence, truly the monsters Odin would have you believe we vampires are."

  "And yet you ally with those monsters." Silmeria was quick to point out. "You rule over all the undead, not just the vampires."

  "And if not me, then who?" Brahms demanded. "Would you prefer them to be aimless? To roam the nine realms without purpose, killing any and all they come across?"

  "Oh, so it's purpose you give them." She couldn't help it. Her tone was mocking then.

  "I keep them busy." Brahms told her. "Engage in Asgard, fighting Odin's war." He snorted then. "It's better than what Odin tried to do with them."

  "Odin?" She couldn't keep the surprise out of her voice, her eyes widening in question.

  "Didn't you know? Oh that's right...Odin sees fit to tell his soldiers only the stories that paint him in an accurate light." Brahms tone and expression was bitter then, the vampire leaning back in his seat.

  "As if you're no different!" Silmeria scoffed. "I see what you're trying to do."

  "Oh?" Not even amusement could chase away Brahms' bitterness completely. "And that is what, little fledgling?"

  She bristled at that, but chose to ignore what he called her. "You're trying to make me doubt my Lord. To stir uncertainties inside me with your lies and deceptions."

  "I have been truthful with you Silmeria." Brahms replied. "It may not be a truth you want to hear, but it doesn't change the facts. Odin has lied to you. Has used the Valkyries and the einherjar for countless millennia, furthering his own private vendettas." His hand raised to his throat, coming away wet with the blood that was slow to stop. "You can stop all the doubts and uncertainties if you would just feed from me."

  "And I'm supposed to believe that there really is memory in the blood?" She scoffed then, crossing her arms over her chest. "You'll have to try harder to trick me. I am not that stupid." She was purposefully trying not to stare at the blood, ignoring the ravenous growl that escaped her.

  "I'd never think you stupid Silmeria." Brahms assured her. "But I can't help but wonder where this sudden cowardice has come from."

  She inhaled sharply. "Cowardice? You accuse me of being a coward?!"

  "You're turning your back on the truth, all but running from it in refusing to drink." Brahms explained, and Silmeria snorted.

  "I am preserving my soul." Her eyes surely blazed with the heat of her emotions. "I am surviving as best I can. Living long enough for my sisters to come and free me from this soulless existence you would cast me into!"

  His face grimaced, Brahms suddenly lurching up out of his seat. "And what happens when they come? Hmm? You think I would allow them, allow any one to take you from me?"

  "You won't have a choice..." Silmeria began, but Brahms cut her off.

  "I bested your sister Lenneth in combat. What makes you think I can't do it again!?" Her mouth open and closed, but he was continuing ruthlessly, pacing towards her. "Silmeria, I care for you...but that care can only get your sisters so far. If they come, if they dare try to kill you..." His eyes were turbulent, a violent promise in his gaze. She shivered and paled to see it, but did not back any further from him. "If they try to kill you..." He repeated with a shudder. "Not even your pleas for mercy will save them."

  "And you don't think that is barbaric? Proof of what a savage monster you are?!" It was all she could say, tone demanding as she glared at him. But she was shaken, knowing Brahms spoke the truth when it came to neutralizing the threat her sisters posed.

  "Is it any more barbaric than loving sisters coming to kill their own, all in some misguided attempt to save her soul?" Brahms countered. "Both sides are working to do what is best for you. Both sides love you." He ignored her snort at that. "But where I want to see you flourish and live, your sisters would see you dead and buried. I won't allow anyone to harm you. If that is wrong, than so be it. I'd gladly be damned twice over to protect you."

  Once she might have been flattered to have so powerful a man pledging his protection to her even as Silmeria acknowledge she wouldn't have needed it. She especially couldn't feel flattered when in the same breath Brahms used to vow he'd protect her, he also threatened her sisters' lives.

  "I don't want, or need your protection." Silmeria growled out loud.

  "You have it all the same
." His reply was instant, Silmeria frowning at him in frustration. "It's a new world I've given you Silmeria. Full of new potential and dangers."

  "The only one I'm in danger from is you!"

  He stopped directly in front of her, his body so much bigger and taller than hers. It made her feel small, like a kitten being eyed by a wolf. But unlike the kitten, she was able to fight, to do more than cry pitifully.

  "You're wrong about that." Brahms loomed over her, Silmeria glaring defiant up at him. "It's as I said. You know little about vampires other than how to hunt them. But now others will be hunting you. You may think you want to lie down for their swords, but you'd be surprised how fervent the desire to live is in the moment when death is upon us." He reached out with his fingers to touch her hair, Silmeria fighting not to flinch in response. "It's not just Odin's warriors you'll have to worry about. Even among our own kind...."

  "Your kind not mine!" Silmeria snapped in interruption. An interruption he ignored.

  "Even among our own kind, there will be some that will want to use you. To hurt you if they can."

  "Why? Because I'm a Valkyrie?" She asked, and he paused, considering his answer a moment.

  "Yes, and no." Brahms said at last. "It's true you've made many enemies among the undead. You've built a career out of slaying those I rule. It will be hard for them to forget past transgressions and move on. Just as I'm sure you will find it difficult to forgive and forget the things the vampires did to you and yours." Reluctantly, Silmeria found herself nodding in agreement to this. "There will be some you will never be able to win over. And some who would hurt you simply to get at me."

  To that she gave him a doubting look. "Because I am to believe you care so deeply about me, it would pain you to lose me?" Her tone was sarcastic, but Brahms did not betray any annoyance he might have felt in response to it.

  "You've never been loved by a vampire." Is what he said instead. Silmeria couldn't help but shiver at the way his voice sounded, making her feel as though a silk feather was being caressed over her sensitized flesh. That voice, combined with the yearning look in his eyes pulled a reaction in her, Silmeria finding her mouth had dried, breath stopping as she stared at him.

  "When we love, when we find the other half of our soul..." His hand let go of her hair, and touched her cheek instead. She didn't lean in to that touch, but Silmeria couldn't look away from him. She found herself hanging on every word, knees actually knocking together from the force of her trembles. "We do so with our whole hearts, our entire fiber of being. To love is to be complete, for the first time in all of our existence."

  She had never heard of this, that the vampires could be so loving. Silmeria knew they could lust, that they could want and desire a person or their things. It was that desire that often drove them to make new vampires from among the races, though in recent centuries the push had been predominantly to make soldiers to help bolster the vampire's forces for the war. But she wasn't sure she completely bought into what Brahms was telling her, even though he had managed an earnest look.

  He was still touching her cheek, his skin holding a slight chill she associated with vampires. Brahms maintained eye contact with her, apparently waiting for Silmeria to say something in response to his claims. Once again, she thought if the situation had been different, if Brahms hadn't been a vampire but just some powerful man, Silmeria would have been flattered by his interest.

  But she reminded herself he wasn't just a man, but a vampire. The King of the Undead. The very monster she was sworn to destroy, the fiend who had chased her relentlessly for far longer than she would care to admit. His vampires were responsible for the injuries that had ended her career as Valkyrie. She had known true pain, debilitating and fierce because of him. She had even known fear, the feeling thrilling in her blood in response to his pursuit.

  Could vampires love? Silmeria didn't think so. She was adamant that what Brahms felt for her had to be pure lust, twisted even further by the very nature of their relationship. It was unnatural, unheard of for a vampire or Valkyrie to care for the other. And yet Brahms seemed to laugh in the face of convention, chasing after Silmeria, and turning her into an abomination. He may have taken away her physical pain, but Silmeria was very much tortured emotionally. She felt it wasn't a fair exchange, thinking Brahms had brought more grief to her and her sisters in forcing the vampire's life onto Silmeria.

  Her thoughts had taken too long. Brahms was already bending towards her lips, intent on claiming a kiss from her. He must have misread her silence as acceptance, or maybe he was just that forward, wanting to seal his proclamation with a kiss. Regardless of the reasons behind the kiss, Silmeria knew she couldn't allow his lips to touch hers. It would only bring trouble, would only further confuse the vampire King's feelings towards her.

  She pushed out with her hands, touching his blood slicked chest with them. Silmeria gave a none to delicate shove, her intent clear in that she didn't want him to come any closer. Disappointment laced with hurt flashed in his eyes, but Brahms let go of her. The instant he stepped away, she found she could breathe, even as she hurriedly wiped her hands on her dress. Silmeria told herself it was to get them clean of the blood, but in truth she was trying to wipe away any tempting traces before she did something as uncouth as start licking the blood off her hands. Even with the blood smeared onto her dress, Silmeria had to battle the compulsion to try and wring out a few drops from the fabric into her mouth.

  It scared and disgusted her that her thirst for blood could make her want to do such things. This time when she shook, it was with revulsion, Silmeria purposefully not looking at Brahms. She couldn't bear the sight of his blood stained skin a moment longer. It was too great a temptation, too mouth watering a sight. She might really give in to the urge to push him down, to crawl on top of him and start licking him clean with her tongue. Perhaps even more horrifying was the knowledge that Brahms would be all to willing to let her do that to him.

  "I...I don't belive in this love you speak of." She was finally able to speak without her voice betraying how shaken she was. "Nor do I believe vampires can feel anything more than lust for another."

  "Becoming a vampire doesn't change what you can feel." Brahms was quick to argue with her. "Tell me Silmeria. Have you lost any love for your sisters? Do you care for them even one bit less than you did as a Valkyrie?"

  "Of course not!" Came Silmeria's immediate answer. She actually felt insulted to hear him question her love for her sisters, even as she reluctantly acknowledged what he said was true. The love remained, not twisted, not distorted by her vampiric nature. But she wouldn't give him a victory so completely, Silmeria glaring at a spot over his shoulder. "But I have not yet lost my soul. Who is to say what will happen if I feed?"

  "I've already told you, vampires are not soulless. Perhaps it is our greatest weakness that we feel too much, especially when our opponents are as unfeeling as the Gods are."

  "The Gods unfeeling?" She couldn't hide how startled that thought made her.

  "They're a self serving lot, only caring about themselves and maybe, just maybe their own kind." Brahms sounded angry then. "It's easy to perpetuate crimes against another when you just don't give a damn."

  "More lies..." Silmeria managed to sputter out.

  "More truths you are afraid to face." Brahms sighed. "I know this will be difficult for you to accept, but the time will come when you will have to see for yourself. Odin is not a shining beacon of goodness, no champion of the realms. The war is not so black and white as Odin would have you think, many gray areas exist."

  "No..no, I won't believe." Silmeria said, shaking her head. "Not even if a thousand years pass...."

  "Then it is fortunate we have all of eternity together." A slight quirking of his lips, Silmeria's hands clenching into fists in response of it. "But I have faith it won't take nearly that long." His own hand raised towards his hair, ruffling the spiky strands with it's caress. The gesture made him seem tired, as though talking with
her had worn Brahms out. Silmeria didn't express concern then, not wanting him to misinterpret it as feelings she didn't have. As feelings she would NEVER have, Silmeria thought resolutely, casting one last glare Brahms' way. No matter how much his blood called to her, how much it tempted and aroused her, she would never reciprocate love or lust towards him. It was an easy vow to make, but even Silmeria felt a smidgen of doubt on whether she'd be able to uphold it through her actions.

  Chapter 11: Eleven

  Lenneth felt as though there would never be a time when she could truly be at peace. Never a time when her thoughts wouldn't be troubled, her mind endlessly examining the information that was revealed to her in bits and pieces. Those pieces weren't enough to give her a full picture of just what was going on, but what they did reveal was disturbing.

  The revelations left her restless, Lenneth pacing back and forth about the room. She wasn't used to this inaction, this feeling of helplessness. Lenneth was used to reacting, to assessing a situation, and making a decision to right the problems of it. Lenneth very much wanted to do that now, and yet did not know how she could ever hope to fix the problems presented to her. The problems of Odin considering an alliance with the underworld.

  It was horrific. It was unthinkable. And yet it had to be true, for Lenneth presence here in Flenceburg was proof of what Odin was considering. What he may have already decided to do. Lenneth didn't believe Odin would lightly enter into an alliance with Hel, anymore than he would hand over a Valkyrie to one of her minions. Not without Odin weighing the risks and benefits of such an act. It had to be more lucrative than damning, the things Hel offered him. Lenneth wondered and worried just how badly the war with Brahms had become. Wondered how she hadn't realized how desperate Odin must be getting to finally win a battle that had waged for what seemed like millennia.

  She knew they all wanted victory over the vampires. That they all wanted the many races of the undead to be destroyed, thoroughly exterminated so that none of the monsters could ever threaten the realms again. But there was few if any among the Valkyrie and einherjar that would want Asgard to align itself with the underworld. With a Queen who was so cruel and callous, she enjoyed corrupting mortals to the path of darkness.