Valkyrie Rising

by GR Griffin

  "Lord Brahms." A female vampire was approaching, looking delighted to see him. "It is not often you join us here." She tskd then, ruby red lips pursed together as she clicked her tongue. "You're always so dedicated to the battle, always so busy with the war."

  "Sureen." He nodded at her. "It is not often I can get away from the front lines..." He then presented Silmeria to the vampiress, the woman briefly looking at the former Valkyrie. "May I introduce you to my bride, the lady Silmeria."

  "Ah your bride. I didn't even see her there." Sureen exclaimed, bringing a hand to her mouth in feigned dismay. Silmeria seemed to stiffen, recognizing the vampiress was purposefully baiting her with that claim. "How do you do?"

  "I've been better." Silmeria told her.

  "Hmm yes, I'm sure you have." The vampiress said. "Brahms has she fed yet? She is looking practically starved." Before Brahms or Silmeria could answer, Surren was already snapping her fingers at one of the humans. The man was a green eyed, black haired youth who came forward with an eagerness to his steps. Brahms heard Silmeria gasp, and a glance at her face showed her staring at the human with hunger and horror equally sharing her gaze.

  "I...I won't feed." Silmeria immediately stated, and Sureen frowned.

  "Won't feed? If you are worried about privacy, there is always the alcoves." A shrewd look came into her eyes. "Or is it you think feeding on blood is beneath you?"

  "Sureen don't bait her!" Brahms snapped at the same time Silmeria answered the question.

  "It is."

  Surren tsked, and sent the human back into the crowd to dote on some other vampires. "She hasn't yet accepted what she is now?" Brahms gave a stiff nod of his head. Something like sympathy appeared in her eyes, but it was not for Silmeria she gave that look to. Surren was showing she well understood what Brahms was going through with Silmeria. Understood and felt for him.

  Unfortunately Silmeria misinterpreted Surren's look, a low, threatening growl coming from her mouth. "I do not want or need your pity."

  "Then you are fortunate for you do not have it." Surren delivered that statement with a haughty sniff, not even looking Silmeria's way. "Do try not cause our King too much grief with your obstinate refusal to feed."

  "He is not my King!" Silmeria snapped. "I follow no man but Lord Odin."

  "The God? As if he would want or accept a vampire in his court." Surren laughed, a pretty sound that held cold mocking to it. "The grandeur of Asgard is forever in your past, closed off to you now. You'd do well to accept that." A smile at Brahms. "And accept Lord Brahms too."

  "Surren, your tongue is as sharp as ever."

  "Oh my Lord, ever do you flatter me!" Surren batted her eyelashes at him in a playful, almost flirtatious manner. Brahms hadn't entire meant his words to be interpreted as a compliment, but wondered if Surren's caustic tongue might not have a positive impact on Silmeria. Certainly it couldn't hurt the girl to hear someone else's bad opinion of Odin.

  "He's good at that." Another vampiress had approached, her flaming red hair still not as fierce a shade as the crimson that colored her eyes. She smiled as Brahms met her eyes, stepping towards him to place a solicitous hand on his chest. The vampiress would raise up on tip toe, straining to plant a welcoming kiss on Brahms' cheek.

  "Risana." Brahms named her, the heat of her kiss lingering on his skin. She had fed within minutes of coming to him, the blood on her breath and warming her chilled lips.

  "It is good to see you my King." She still lingered her fingers on his chest, the touch just short of inappropriate considering he was now wed to Silmeria. "I do get ever so lonely when you are not around."

  "Now now, you know that is not true." Brahms chided her. "You have no end to male and female admirers."

  "Yes." Agreed Surren. "You are never one to want for companionship."

  "The men here cannot measure up to his lordship.' Countered Risana, looking coyly at Brahms through lowered eyelashes. She was laying it on thick, and not for Silmeria's sake. Risana had always been one to chase after Brahms, hoping to inspire a love match between them. It would be good to put distance between them, Brahms touching her hand and attempting to remove it from his person. But Risana would quickly glide her hand towards his neck, an unasked touch as she examined the faint scars where his and Silmeria claws had torn open the skin. "This did not happen on the battlefield."

  "No it did not." This time Brahms succeeded in casting away her hand, the move dismissive enough that Risana would surely not attempt another touch. Risana glanced at Silmeria, and something twisted in her expression. A second later she was back to her dazzling, flirtatious smile. "I am happy for you Brahms." She nodded at Silmeria. "It is...good to make your acquaintance."

  Brahms had expected Silmeria to make some cutting remark, but the girl only nodded. At some point she had let go of Brahms' arm, the vampire king distracted enough by Risana that he hadn't noticed right away.

  Other vampires were approaching, all high in the status that made them think they had a right to demand access to Brahms' time. A small cluster would form around him, the men and women eager to see the Valkyrie that had stolen their King's heart so completely. They weren't crude enough to make too many pointed comments, but Silmeria's tension was heavy all the same. Heavy enough to practically taste on his tongue.

  Unfortunately, some couldn't help express concern over how peaked Silmeria looked. They wondered if she would faint, knowing Silmeria was forcing unneeded suffering upon herself. Silmeria seemed annoyed by their concern, her eyes flashing as she snapped about not being so weak as to collapse from a little hunger. Brahms was quickly realizing the hunger was getting to her, putting Silmeria in a foul temper.

  Her fangs were flashing more and more as she spoke, Silmeria visibly agitated in the presence of all these vampires. She wouldn't relax, even once the conversation started to move on to things that had little to do with Silmeria and her refusal to feed. Surren began leading the group in a discussion about the latest, greatest work of the vampire novelist Stocke. Silmeria could not really participate in the conversation, having not read the book nor realized that vampires could and did create their own works of literature.

  While not quite an eye opener, it was a conversation that exposed Silmeria to an aspect of vampire life she had never dreamed existed. She listened without interruption, eyes flickering from face to face. Brahms wondered what she searched for in the faces of the vampires around them. He wondered if she noticed how at ease and animated the people were, how passionate they became as they argued the merits of certain scenes.

  Occasionally he would give his own opinion about Stocke's work, but mostly he was content to observe Silmeria. It was why he saw it when her eyes began turning towards the human donors, a keen sense of yearning on her face. She was projecting her hunger in an embarrassing display, but the vampires were too polite to call attention to what Brahms' bride was inadvertently doing. It wasn't that they respected or liked Silmeria, but that they didn't want to risk Brahms' displeasure. It was clear to all he was taken with his fledgling, ready to indulge her in numerous ways.

  A vampire shouldered his way into the heart of the group. He had salt and pepper colored hair, having been made a vampire late in his human life. There was even uncharacteristic age lines on his face, but rather than make him look haggard, they merely gave him a distinguished look. Most vampires had an eternal appearance of youth, but Gideon had just enough age to make him a unique oddity among the vampires.

  "Gideon." Brahms couldn't keep the concern out of his voice, knowing if Gideon was here, trouble was brewing. It was up to Brahms to find out what that trouble was, and make the decisions needed to neutralize the threat. "What is it?"

  Gideon did a subtle sidelong look at Silmeria. It was enough to tell Brahms it was about a subject Silmeria should not hear. "Ah, if you will excuse me?" Brahms asked the group who was already nodding in response. But he didn't immediately leave, taking Silmeria's hands. "I won't be gone long."

  "Y
ou're leaving me here?" Was that dismay mixed in with Silmeria's surprise? But Brahms didn't delude himself into thinking it was fondness that made her want him to stay close.

  "Just briefly. There is a matter I must attend to....Vandimeer will escort you back to the bedroom." Vandimeeer, a vampire that was frozen at an eternal thirty-two stepped forward, ready to offer Silmeria his arm.

  "Oh Lord Brams." A protest from Surren, one that the others echoed. "Surely she doesn't have to go just yet? The night is young, and we've barely gotten a chance to enjoy the lady's company."

  "Let me say." Silmeria urged him. "I.." Her lashes lowered. "I don't want to stay locked in that room."

  He was still hesitant about this, even with the others trying to persuade him otherwise. "All right." He said at last, Surren smiling in victory. "But remember your promise." He gave a firm squeeze of her hands, then slowly let go. "Vandimeer, watch over her."

  "Yes my King."

  As Brahms walked away with Gideon, he heard Risana ask, "Promise, what promise?" But he didn't linger to hear Silmeria's answer.

  Chapter 14: Fourteen

  It was simply amazing, astonishing even. To think that her captor, the vampire that was so obsessed with her, had actually deigned to allow her a chance to remain somewhere other than in her cage was shocking. It was more than Silmeria had honestly hoped for, the girl having expected no real chance to get away from Brahms. And yet here she was, free from him. It was a temporary freedom, but one Silmeria intended to take advantage of the first chance she got.

  She tried not to let her excitement show, to act unaffected in the moment. But it was difficult, elation and smugness filling her, Silmeria thinking Brahms just a little stupid for trusting her in this manner. If the situation would have been reversed, she would have never left him alone. Of course, she wasn't as alone as Silmeria would have liked, a room full of vampires crowded in besides her.

  By Silmeria's estimation, there was at least fifty in all, plus fourteen humans foolish enough to offer themselves as snacks to these monsters. She knew there was another two vampires on guard in the hall outside the ball room. All in all, not good odds for one lone Valkyrie. Especially one who no longer had access to her divine strengths, or her einherjar for back up.

  A grim humor filled her, Silmeria recalling how she didn't want to actually live. Not as one of the undead. What did the odds matter when she thought like that? She could go out in a blaze of glory, taking as many vampires with her as she could before one of them succeeded in delivering the final strike that ended her existence. But something held her back, barely restrained her from starting the fight she could not hope to win. Was it the predator inside her? The instinct for survival at all costs? Or did she foolishly, selfishly want to see her sisters one last time?

  It might be better to let the vampires kill her. It would save Lenneth and Hrist the painful task of doing it themselves. Lenneth would especially suffer, she and Silmeria sharing a close bond that went beyond the realm of sisters. They had been each other's best friend. Silmeria wanted to see Lenneth, even as it would force her sister to take up arms against her. All because she wanted the chance to reassure Lenneth, to tell her one last time she loved her and did not blame her for what had happened with Brahms.

  That might be the only solace she could give Lenneth. Silmeria knew that Lenneth would be torturing herself, blaming herself for what had happened. It was a burden, a grief Lenneth might carry for all time. Silmeria had to do what she could to alleviate her of it.

  Her thoughts took only seconds to play out, the vampires around her talking. The one called Surren, a shrewd face woman, was eyeing her now. Silmeria didn't quite scowl, eyes fierce and challenging as she grit out a terse word. "What?"

  "I am just surprised. I truly did not think you would want to remain among us." Surren explained.

  There was a reason she had not wanted to return to the bedroom that had doubled as her cage. And that reason had nothing to do with the vampires around her. Silmeria didn't try for pleasantries, plainly speaking her thoughts. "I don't. But anything is better than returning to that room. Even if I must remain amongst you vipers."

  Surren's expression flickered, but she did not become as angry as Silmeria would have expected. "Oh my. You do have a low opinion of us, don't you?" The vampires closest to them had ceased their conversations, their interest obvious as they watched the exchange between the two females.

  "It is an opinion you earned." Silmeria retorted. "With your war mongering, your zest for killing, your torture of innocents."

  "Except for that last one, I'd think you were talking about the Valkyries." Surren countered, and Silmeria's eyes blazed.

  "You would dare?!"

  "What is there to dare about? I speak the truth. You Valkyries live for war. And you cut down any who stand against you and your King. Oh I'm sorry, former King." Surren corrected with a smirk. "I know of you Silmeria. I know you have been ruthlessly slaughtering our people for generations!"

  "It's what they deserved." Someone gasped, she thought it might be the red hair vampiress Risana. "You think the undead are any better? When they have killed countless soldiers, both Valkyrie and einherjar? When you vampires lust after Valkyrie blood, and use the power you gain from it to kill even more of my people?!"

  "I almost pity you Silmeria." Surren said. "Caught between two worlds, never to be accepted by either."

  "Surren!" It was Vandimeer who spoke the vampiress' name so sharply. "That's enough."

  "No, let her speak." Risana urged. "She needs to hear this."

  "Lord Brahms would not approve." Grumbled Vandimeer.

  "Lord Brahms is not here." Pointed out Surren, even as Silmeria glowered at her. "But of course, I will respect his need to coddle and shelter his bride." A small smirk in response to Silmeria's glare. "I will look forward to the day Brahms tires of you. That he realizes this infatuation is nothing so meaningful as a real and lasting love."

  "As if you cold hearted creatures even know what love is!" Silmeria snapped back. Surren laughed, the mocking sound grating on Silmeria's nerves.

  "Well, now, this is a stimulating conversation." Surren turned dismissive. "But ultimately a pointless one." She turned to Risana, as though intent on ignoring Silmeria's presence. "Is that a new ring Risana?" At the red hair woman's nod, Surren laughed. "No doubt from one of your many paramours. Come, let me look at it more closely."

  It shouldn't have mattered, but Silmeria seethed all the same at the dismissal. Surren's every word, every gesture got to Silmeria in a way that few others had. And the former Valkyrie didn't think it had solely to do with the fact that the woman was a vampire. There was just an instant dislike between them, Silmeria having no experience with a woman quite like Surren.

  "Forgive her." Vandimeer said softly from besides her. "Brahms' absence has made her forget her manners."

  "I don't think she had any manners to begin with." Silmeria retorted, not bothering to look at the vampire. Instead she was looking around the room, judging the distance between here and to the door. Silmeria knew there was little chance of her sneaking out of the room. The vampires were too busy watching her, as though hoping she would provide them more entertainment than she already had. Nor did Silmeria think she could so easily slip away from Vandimeer, the man taking seriously Brahms' order to watch over her.

  She didn't quite sigh, continuing her study of the room. The vampires closest to her were talking again, but it was about things she had little experience with. Silmeria neither knew who Dante was, or why she should care that he had made a spectacle of himself over some woman. It was all just petty gossip, Silmeria surprised the vampires didn't have more pressing concerns.

  But then these vampires were unlike the ones she was used to dealing with, seeming almost frivolous and carefree. Silmeria's lip curled, the girl thinking that the vampires in this room would prove no challenge at all to Odin's armies. The war would have ended ages ago, if these soft creatures who were bloate
d on blood had been the true soldiers of Brahms' army.

  She idly wondered how the war was going, but Silmeria was sure in the five days since her kidnapping, not much had actually changed. Certainly not enough for either side to be inching towards a victory. She didn't miss the fighting, but she did miss the camaraderie of the other Valkyries and einherjar. She missed being in the know, of having direct access to the information that trickled in about the victories and losses they suffered in the war.

  But those were avenues closed off to her, the camaraderie lost forever. The Valkyries would kill her on sight, horrified by what Silmeria had become. It was a horror she shared, Silmeria trying to ignore the reminders that her claws were. Not that she could close her eyes and pretend to be something she was no longer. The hunger wouldn't let her forget, always a constant demand deep within her.

  The hunger was what was making her so irritable and short tempered this night. Not that Silmeria cared about making friends with the vampires. But she didn't like that she was so quick to snap, so hostile in response to everything said to her. It was a weakness, this uncontrollable hostility making her easy to read. Surren had been quick to take advantage, goading Silmeria on to further heights of anger.

  It wasn't just Surren, it was this room. It was the people here, and that included the humans. She was appalled, and the fact that the humans weren't frightened or upset but actually eager to serve, did little to lessen her disgust. And yet she couldn't keep from looking as a vampire male led a pretty human female into one of the hidden alcoves. Nor could she block out the sounds and smells of the feeding, Silmeria's now superior hearing and sense of smell letting her experience the blood drinking as though she was there in the alcove with them.

  She trembled, but it was so slight no one would know unless they touched Silmeria. She closed her eyes briefly, but that did not succeed in blocking out her awareness that a vampire was satisfying his blood lust. Satisfying his hunger in a way Silmeria could never.