Valkyrie Rising

by GR Griffin

  "What are you doing?!" Brahms demanded. "You broke your promise to me! You jeopardized everything...everything I hoped to do, everything I hoped for!" His bitter disappointment in her was showing, Brahms glowering at Silmeria. She said nothing in reply, just stared at him. It fed his agitation, Brahms letting frustration loose as he began angrily gesturing with his hand.

  "This is not what we do! We are a civilized people, no matter what you may believe! There are rules! Laws to be followed, obeyed! What you did goes against everything that...that..." Silmeria had moved, her hands coming forward to touch his chest. He didn't try to stop her, though Brahms was wary of what she was attempting to do.

  He tried not to let the fact that Silmeria was touching him distract from his anger. "What you did tonight, it is a good way to get yourself killed! Is that it? Did you do this because you wanted to die? Because you hoped someone would put you out of the misery you continue to wallow in?! Or were you simply reacting as a Valkyrie, attacking a people you still view as your enemy?! You.."

  Her hands were moving, actually caressing him. It felt far too nice in comparison to the anger that boiled within him, and even then the act stole a strangled sound from his throat. Her blue eyes seemed to twinkle in response to that noise, and before Brahms could regain his composure, her hands turned gripping. In an instant she had ripped open his shirt, Silmeria seeming to sigh in appreciation at the sight of his skin.

  Brahms was startled, but it didn't stop the first signs of arousal from taking root within him. Especially with the way Silmeria was looking at him, her gaze admiring as she leaned in. He stopped breathing when she leaned in, Silmeria inhaling his scent and rubbing her cheek directly on his skin. He reacted to that nuzzle, some of his anger lessening as confusion took hold of him.

  And with that confusion was a wariness, Brahms reaching for Silmeria's shoulders. Though he wanted nothing more than to linger with Silmeria pressed against him, Brahms forced himself to push her back. That earned him an angry hiss, Silmeria struggling though she could not stop him from pushing her away. His hands slid down off her shoulders, Brahms gripping her tightly to stop her fight.

  She reacted to the pressure on her arms, Silmeria holding herself still and looking back into Brahms' eyes. He frowned, his search of her eyes revealing little of what he expected to see. She wasn't angry, nor was Silmeria completely there. But he knew she hadn't gone to the mindless place of a revenant, or else she would have never held still for his inspection. No, this was something else, something far more manageable.

  More of his anger left, expelled when his worries over the state of Silmeria's mind were relieved. She wasn't a revenant, and right now that was all that mattered. Enough that he wanted to hug her, to reassure them both that everything would be all right. But he resisted that impulse, Brahms doing a slow once over of her body. This time his gaze lingered on the many cuts and marks on her body, including a long gash that was bleeding.

  She couldn't really afford to lose any more blood, not when she was refusing to feed. "You're hurt." Brahms stated, letting go of her to press fingers to the gash. She didn't react the way he expected, no pain lacing her expression. Instead she reached out to touch him, Silmeria cupping his face in both hands. It didn't take much prodding from her, Brahms lifting his gaze back to her face.

  He was unprepared for her smile, the first she had ever given him. The beauty of it was nearly enough to steal his breath away, and the words she rasped out had his heart beat quicken. Silmeria told him she wanted him, and that was as astonishing as it was hard to believe, even when Silmeria leaned in to lick at his ear! Brahms didn't know what to make of this, but he instinctively knew Silmeria was not the type to try seduction to get out of a trouble she had earned.

  She continued to tease his ear, Brahms going still in response when her kisses began working down the side of his face. Every little kiss a delight, his eyes closing as he gave himself over to her affection. But the feel of her fangs grazing made them snap open, Brahms startled

  anew.

  "Silmeria...!"

  She didn't reply in words, her affection taking on a more desperate air. She'd actually kiss him, lips so sweet and pressing insistently against his. He had seen the desire shining in her eyes, a desire Brahms had longed for, for what seemed a small eternity. And yet this was all wrong, Brahms understanding something was wrong with Silmeria. She wasn't herself, but driven by her lusts. Violence had turned to sexual arousal, but it was not Silmeria who was in true control but the predator inside her. The essence that made her a vampire.

  At some point his hands had taken hold of her arms once more, but it was no longer to restrain her. No, Brahms need something to add stability to the turbulent emotions that that threatened to bring him to his knees. Silmeria's actions actually had him trembling, Brahms trying to restrain himself from kissing her back.

  It was a losing battle, especially with Silmeria straining to press more than her lips against him. He scented the arousal coming off her in waves, and it only heightened his. Knowing this was a mistake, and unable, unwilling to stop it just yet, Brahms parted his lips. Silmeria took care of the rest, making a low keening sound as she kissed him harder. All semblance of restraint severed, Brahms' grip tightening as he began kissing her back in earnest.

  He told himself he meant to only taste. To make a memory that would serve him well on the cold, lonely nights he spent waiting for Silmeria to love him back.

  But it wasn't as easy to stop what he had started, Silmeria making eager sounds as his mouth sealed overs hers with rough possession. She was squirming fitfully in his hold, but not to get away. Never that! She wanted to go to him, to press as close as possible. He'd let her, pulling her so that her body ended up plastered against his front. And all the while her squirming sent delicious tingles straight down to his cock.

  He groaned, the sound pure desire and eaten up by Silmeria. His tongue came forward, almost of it's own violation, plundering ruthlessly into her mouth. She met and matched him with her own, their tongues dueling in velvet wet caresses. At some point Silmeria's fangs had gone to a more manageable length, but still Brahms had to be careful not to cut his tongue on her teeth. If she had fed already, he wouldn't have exercised such care, knowing to vampires blood only fueled kisses to new heights of ecstasy.

  But a part of him still understood it would be wrong to trick her into drinking blood before she was ready. Just as another part of him knew kissing her was wrong. That this whole act was wrong. But Brahms kept begging himself for five more minutes. Just a few more minutes to enjoy what Silmeria was giving him, even as he knew his heart would break once it was over.

  It might already be close to breaking now, Brahms well understanding Silmeria didn't really want him. Not when she was in her right mind. It was disheartening to know that the woman that he loved only returned a semblance of those feelings when she was driven to extreme emotions. Driven to the point her real personality shut down, and she became a slave to a vampire's most basic needs.

  Amongst those basic needs was the desire to connect with someone, the desire to touch and be loved. The vampire part of Silmeria recognized Brahms the way he had her, recognized and WANTED him. Later, when he was alone, and could think, Brahms would allow that knowledge to feed into his hopes. But for now, he couldn't let desire sweep out of control, even as the kiss turned even more fierce and intense.

  His hands' grip on her arms might be the only thing keeping the desire from escalating things further. Silmeria was making impatient, needy noises, starting an earnest struggle to get free. Heaven and Hel help him if she did, Silmeria already proven to be a pleasing handful as she rubbed her body against his. It sent reaction rocketing to him, his cock beginning to stiffen in his pants.

  She brushed purposefully against it, as though knowing that would drive him wild. Even as the fabric tightened and strained over his developing erection, Brahms was moving them both. With that preternatural speed of the vampires, slamming Silmer
ia's back into a wall.

  The kiss broke long enough for Silmeria to gasp, but she didn't look frightened. No, if anything she was excited, eyes showing her feverish delight as her lips formed words. "Need you." She intoned, just before he silenced her with his lips. Perhaps he didn't want words between them, didn't want her speaking promises she would not keep once back to being self aware.

  Had five minutes passed? Brahms did not know, and was finding he was uncaring. But he knew he should stop, and wished for all the strength to do just that. It wasn't coming, especially when Silmeria hooked a leg over his hip, her thighs spread so he could fit perfectly between them. There wasn't much barrier between them, her torn skirt little more than silken scraps.

  With a lewd moan, he vigorously rubbed himself against her. It wasn't enough, would never be enough! He needed his pants out of the way, needed to lift aside that scarp of silk skirt and plunged himself inside her. But he couldn't, and he hated the fact that he HAD to stop! Stop before he went as insensible as Silmeria, and did something she would not be able to forgive him for.

  How could he stop when Silmeria was kissing him in that hungry, desperate way? With her legs wrapping around him, holding him in the only way she could so as long as Brahms kept her arms pinned. The fact that he could smell her arousal shut things off in his brains, his own instincts demanding he see to his woman's pressing need. A need that superseded the hunger, and would bring them closer than ever together.

  But that closeness would be false! An illusion so long a Silmeria wasn't in her right mind. He didn't feel entirely sane himself, still pushing against her, body rubbing in a frenzied motion. Brahms had to stop, and he had to stop right now! Even if the stopping hurt him more than just his heart.

  With a tortured moan, he pulled away from her. Or at least as far as he could, considering Silmeria's legs were locked tight around him. Brahms stared at her, seeing her lips all pouty and swollen from the furious way he had kissed her. And when she licked her lips, it nearly enticed him back on her, Brahms doing a full body shudder. Her own eyes blazed, Silmeria hungry for more. She hadn't yet realized he wasn't going to kiss her again, Silmeria breathless with anticipation.

  Brahms wanted to give her that kiss. Almost as much as he wanted her to act this way with her mind clear of the haze that had settled in on it. He wanted the real Silmeria yearning and needy, and not this shell she had become.

  He didn't quite sigh, leaning towards her face once more. She thought he meant to kiss her, but Brahms was simply capturing her attention. Using his shaky control to gain command of her own mind. It wasn't as easy as it should have been, he was too stirred up in arousal and need. He used her eyes as a focal point, staring into the unsettling blue even as his own red blazed brighter.

  There was no resistance this time. Silmeria never even suspected what Brahms was attempting. That was good, he might not have been able to use the compulsion if she had fought him. Not with his own mind racing, his thoughts and emotions a turbulent storm. But use it he did, the command to sleep being issued in her mind. Brahms watched as Silmeria gave in, her eye lids fluttering rapidly. Everything about her was going limp, from the legs locked around him, to the arms that he gripped.

  By the time she was fully asleep, Brahms was able to disentangle himself from her. But he was badly shaken, holding Silmeria up and trying to get control. The gash on her side had finally stopped bleeding, and it was Brahms who wanted to drop down and run his tongue over that cut. Somehow, just barely, he resisted that impulse. But he badly needed to sink his fangs into something, do something to stop the lusts running through him.

  He stepped away from Silmeria. Walked over to one of the once hidden alcoves. There was a still intact stone bench inside it, and he used it now. Brahms pounding a fist on it, blow breaking apart the stone. The impact sent jarring sensation through him, but it barely had an effect on easing his frustrations.

  In the end, Brahms would break every last bench in the room, working out his frustrations in the only way left to him. When he was done, his fist was bleeding, Brahms lifting it up to sample his own blood. His fangs sank into his skin, Brahms growling as he savagely tore at his own hand. It wasn't anywhere as satisfying as the million things he had wanted to do to Silmeria. Do to and with his bride.

  He never calmed down completely. But in the end Brahms returned to Silmeria's side. He'd gently lift her up off the floor, cradling her in his arms and against his chest. Silmeria never even stirred, just laying there limp as he carried her out of the room.

  Most of the vampires had fled for the night, surely going off to find a human to feed off of. Brahms knew the feedings would serve two purposes, healing the injured and calming the stirred emotions of many of the vampires. He might even need to feed himself, given the amount of frustration Brahms was currently experiencing. But before he could even consider doing that, he had other things to do.

  Such as dealing with the anger and paranoia of the vampires that remained in the hall. The looks they gave him ranged anywhere from upset to pity, the vampires surely having used their superior hearing to eavesdrop on Brahms and Silmeria. They knew what had happened, and knew he had restrained himself from taking things any further. They might not understand his reasons, but they felt for him all the same.

  Or at least some of them did, the others letting anger and fear manifest. Surren was the first to approach him, her dress torn around her middle, a bruise imprinted on her cheek. "Just what kind of monster have you created?!"

  "Lady Surren!" Vandimeer stepped away from the wall. "Mind your tongue when talking to

  our King!"

  "She is merely asking what we all want to know." It was another male vampire, a noble named Alfredi. He locked eyes with Brahms, but there was no challenge to that gaze. "Lord Brahms...her speed, her strength....it is not normal for a fledgling."

  "SHE is not normal for fledgling." Snapped Surren. "She is an abomination! Worse than a revenant for her mind is conscious to make the decisions to attack us all!"

  "You go to far Surren." Brahms growled at her.

  "Or maybe I go not far enough!" She hissed back. Surren seemed uncaring of her insolent tone, eyes narrowed as she glared at Brahms. "She was a Valkyrie. The natural enemies of the vampires. It's obvious she's carried the hatred of her kind into her transformation. A hatred that will do nothing, stop at nothing to destroy any and all vampires she comes across!"

  "She is a danger to us!" Risana added her voice to the argument. Brahms noted she had somehow managed to come away from the fight unscathed. "One we cannot allow..." But the red head wasn't brave enough to say what she felt should be done to stop Silmeria's threat. None of them were, not even Surren whose anger boiled, hatred in her eyes as she looked a Silmeria.

  "Silmeria needs time." Brahms began. "Time to distance herself from her old way of life, the thoughts and hatreds of the Valkyrie. We will give her that time."

  "She has proven she doesn't deserve that time! Doesn't deserve anything from us!" Surren cried out.

  "I will not turn my back on her!"

  "But you would turn your back on your people?!" demanded Surren. "You would choose her over us?!"

  "I am not doing any such thing!" Brahms snarled. "I am only giving her the chance...the same chance I gave all of you. Or have you forgotten what it was like to be a fledgling?" He let his gaze go from person to person, seeing how each vampire lowered their eyes as though ashamed. "There was a time when you all were out of control. And a time when some of you didn't accept the gift that had been given to you. Surren, you yourself hated what you had become. It was years before you stopped looking at life as a vampire like it was a curse."

  "Do not think to compare me to her!" Surren protested with a hiss. "It's not the same...it will never be the same!"

  "I think perhaps you dislike Silmeria because she reminds you too much of how you once were!" Brahms retorted. Surren's hands clenched into fists, and Brahms knew if he had been anyone else save for her King,
she would have attacked him then.

  "I will keep a closer watch on Silmeria." He continued out loud. "This will not happen again."

  "Can you really promise that?" Risana asked as Surren turned her back with a huffing sound. "She is strong...she could be a danger even to you."

  "No one is stronger than Lord Brahms!" protested Vandimeer.

  "There are other ways she could destroy him." Alfredi said. "It would be better if you abandoned this insane idea to make her our Queen."

  "You do not dictate to me who will share my throne!" Brahms told him.

  "We do not dictate to you at all." Pointed out Alfredi. "But, not all will be happy. Especially not after tonight. You may find yourself with more problems than an out of control fledgling before this is through."

  "Is that a threat?" It was Gideon who spoke, the vampire having stayed hidden in the shadows all this time.

  "No, not a threat. Just a fact." Alfredi had turned to look at the other vampire. "It is no secret that there has been unrest since our Lord has shown interest in making the Valkyrie his..."

  "All the same, I will be personally investigating any and all who so much as grumble about our Lord and his bride." Gideon told him, a tight half smile on his face. "Nothing personal of course."

  "Of course." Acknowledged Alfredi with his own half smile. "You must do what you must to keep the king safe."

  "And the Queen." Brahms reminded them of his presence. "Gideon, Vandimeer, with me." Without further pause to hear if Surren and the others had any other complaints to voice, Brahms was moving. Walking past them with the confidence born of his strength and age. They would not attempt a direct attack on him, they were simply too spineless and cowardly to try.

  But it was as Alfredi said. There was unrest, certain unhappy but powerful individuals in his kingdom. Individuals who wouldn't hesitate to use Silmeria's bad behavior tonight against them both. The eyes of the vampires would be watching, more closely than ever. Waiting with bated breath for Silmeria to commit more blunders. Waiting and hoping she'd drag Brahms down with her, the other vampires not caring what their King meant to them.