Valkyrie Rising

by GR Griffin

  "Can it really be that easy..." Gideon wondered, turning away once Brahms sunk his fangs into the man's neck. The vampire was watching the area below them, alert for any attacks that might come while Brahms' fed. "She may want to live...but can she really take that final step towards sustaining her life?"

  Brahms could no longer answer, not with his mouth otherwise engaged. The rich taste of the human's blood filled him, health and vitality flowing through him as Brahms swallowed down large mouthfuls of it. There were so many urges going through him as he fed, the strongest being the urge to drink this human to his death. It took a lot of control, a lot of strength for Brahms to be careful as he fed. He would drink only enough, and that amount would never be enough to endanger the human. It would only weaken him, the man awakening in his home, thinking he had come down with some kind of illness.

  As he fed, he felt his energy restoring, his body healing. The cuts all over him? They started to mend, skin closing seamlessly, leaving no scar to identify where the injury had first existed. Brahms felt good, though not as good as a Valkyrie's blood would have made him feel. But it was more than enough, Brahms risking pulling on the vein one last time, filling himself to the point he thought his veins would burst from too much blood.

  His arms were supporting the human, the man no longer able to stand on his own when Brahms pulled back from the feeding. Gideon turned to look at him, and nodded his approval.

  "You look well."

  "I feel good." Brahms told him. "Better than I have in a while now...." But it didn't all have to do with the blood he had drank. Brahms was full of excitement and anticipation, readying himself to feed Silmeria for the first time ever.

  "I do not meant to bring down your mood but...Try not to get your hopes up." Gideon advised. "Silmeria has had a way of disappointing you in the past..."

  "Fear not Gideon." Brahms was already passing over the human to Gideon's waiting arms. "I expect nothing from her, except for her to feed."

  "You know a feeding can bring more to it than just the easing of one's hunger. Can you remain impartial to the desires she will rouse? The desires she may not be prepared to act on?"

  Brahms tried not to be annoyed, knowing Gideon only spoke out of concern for him. "I will manage."

  "It's not that I doubt you..." Gideon said. "But being fed on by one's bride....it is a powerful experience. Take care you do not jeopardize things between you with the emotions she stirs up."

  "I will be careful." Brahms promised him. Gideon didn't look like he believed him, and all because Brahms was about to experience a first in his life. The first of one's mate feeding off him. It excited him just thinking about it. It was no wonder Brahms could do little to reassure Gideon of his worries. "Stay here and watch over our people. Make sure no one crosses a line that plunges both sides back into fighting."

  "As you wish." Gideon bowed his head, putting the unconscious human down on the stones of the walkway. It wouldn't be until much later, when Brahms could return to his post, that Gideon would be allowed to return the human to his home on the main land. But for now there was no time, Brahms flexing his muscles, enjoying how that movement came without any sharp pain. He didn't linger for much longer than that, Brahms teleporting into the castle.

  He'd arrive just outside the bedroom, noting that someone, Vandimeer most likely, had repaired the door. He'd smile at the man's thoughtfulness, thinking it typical that Vandimeer had seen to that which might have been overlooked by another. Most vampires wouldn't have seen fixing the door as a necessity for feeding. After all, vampires can and did feed in front of others. But this was to be Silmeria's first feeding, which made it special. Brahms wanted her to have no reason to balk against giving in to her hungers.

  Having a door they could close would go a long way towards relaxing Silmeria. She would surely appreciate the sense of privacy it gave them both. He'd appreciate it too, Brahms knowing this first feeding held the potential to get intense. Just the thought of it had him excited, nervous anticipation that had Brahms wiping his sweating palms on the back of his leather trousers.

  By the time Vandimeer pulled open the door, Brahms was as composed as he could manage. He didn't exactly exude confidence, but neither did he shy away, or act like an over enthusiastic fledgling. Vandimeer said something, some greeting that Brahms barely paid attention to. And all because he was already looking past Vandimeer towards Silmeria.

  She was a pale beauty, her tanned skin suffering from the amount of blood she had lost so recently. Feeding would do much to restore her color, restore it to that healthy flush of when she had first awakened. It would take weeks for the tan to fade away completely. Silmeria would be sun kissed for a while yet. Even once she became pale like his people, Silmeria would still be stunning.

  Silmeria surely felt Brahms' eye upon her. It was clear she was making an effort not to look at him, leaning against the wall furthest from the door. Her arms were crossed over her chest, bearing marks from Hrist's sword. A shiver went though him, Brahms recalling how he had used his tongue to clean those cuts while they had still been bleeding. She has gasped at the first touch of his tongue, but ultimately Silmeria had held still for his treatment. Brahms hoped she'd be as easy to manage when it came to feeding for a struggle would do neither of them any good.

  "My Lord?" Vandimeer's voice from besides him did not draw the vampire king's attention away from Silmeria. But Brahms spoke, voice a curt command.

  "Gideon is up on the northern ramparts. I would have you join him there."

  "At once." Vandimeer acknowledged with a slight bow. Brahms felt the power gather, the dark haired vampire teleporting away before he had straightened from his bow. Brahms made sure to ease the door close behind him, the soft click of the lock engaging seeming to make Silmeria flinch in response. But she still wouldn't look at him. Brahms wondered if it was a coping mechanism of hers, or if it was an attempt to deny what was about to happen between them.

  Whatever the case, it frustrated Brahms. He wanted, NEEDED to see her eyes. Wanted to gaze into their beautiful blue color one last time. To memorize everything about them before they changed forever. Her feeding would turn them crimson, as though staining them with the blood she would take into her body. It would still be Silmeria, no matter what color her eyes were, but the change was something that marked his people as vampires.

  Of all the changes of the vampires, the eyes were the ones that prevented them from being able to walk as normal people. Vampires could control the length of their fangs, shift their claws into nails. But never could they fix their eyes.

  "Silmeria...."

  "I can hear the fighting has stopped." She interrupted him, giving an offhand gesture to the room's window. "Is it really over or...?"

  "It's not over." Brahms told her. "Both sides have merely agreed to a temporary cease fire in order to tend to their dead." That hand of hers resumed it's place over her chest, Silmeria gripping her arms with her claws. The way she was hunching over, it gave Brahms the impression it was from hunger. The pain of it that fierce. He immediately began walking towards her, concern for her in his every thought and action.

  "What happens after?" Silmeria asked, her claws seeming to dig in harder into her skin. "Will the Valkyrie and their einherjar be allowed to leave the island?"

  "That is entirely up to them." Brahms said. "I've given them a reprieve from the fighting. A chance to leave the island. It is up to them whether or not they take it. But Silmeria? If they remain and try to resume the fight tomorrow night, we vampires WILL finish them."

  Was that a shudder that shook through Silmeria's body? And did it have to do with Brahms words, or more to do with her hunger? It could even be both, Silmeria battling her appetites, and fear for her former people.

  "It has gone badly for the Valkyries hasn't it?" Silmeria asked. Her head was lifting at his approach, Brahms being blessed with the beautiful blue color of her eyes.

  "Yes." He nodded, holding her gaze with his own cri
mson colored one. "The Valkyrie and their einherjar were many, but this is our home. The only one we vampires have at the moment. Is it any wonder we fought harder than ever to defend it?"

  "No...it makes sense...It is as you say. Your home. Who else would know the lay of the land better, than those who live on this island."

  "It's your home too now." Brahms pointed out. But he didn't smile, well aware she might reject him and the home he offered her. Indeed Silmeria made no comment on that, just turning away from him to step closer to the window. "Someday....I'd like to take you on a tour of the island..."

  "Did you see to my sister and her einherjar's safe passage?" Silmeria abruptly switched topics. So fast, Brahms blinked in surprise.

  "Yes. I've had Gideon spread the word. Out of all the remaining Valkyrie and einherjar, those two are not to be touched. No matter what happens tomorrow night, those two will be left alone. It is up to them what they do from there."

  "And if my sister refuses to abandon me to my fate?" Silmeria inquired.

  "You know what will be done." Brahms told her. Her shoulders seemed to stiffen, he could feel the agitation that stirred in his bride at those words. "Silmeria please....for one night do not worry about Hrist."

  "What would you have me do instead?" Silmeria demanded. "Think only of myself?!"

  "You can't keep worrying about your sisters. Not all the time at least. You've taken a big step tonight, in acknowledging that you want to live. Now is the time to do more than acknowledge it, to actively do what is needed to keep yourself healthy and whole." He paused, hating to ask, but needed to know. "Or are you already regretting not laying down your life to Hrist's sword?"

  "No." Silmeria shook her head, her blond hair caressing over her back. "I don't regret the realization I have had. But, it's not an easy thing to know my sisters won't be happy with my choice. That they would actively seek to bring an end to me, even now that I've decided I want to live!"

  "They are ignorant." Silmeria made a protesting sound at that, but Brahms spoke over her. "They like so many others have been blinded by Odin's lies. They would condemn you for what you've become. Damn you as thoroughly as Odin has damned the vampires. They believe you, and me, to be soulless monsters. But we are just a people, an existence gifted in many ways, cursed in others. My vampires merely want a place to exist, to live without threat to their lives."

  "But you....we...are unnatural beings. Not created by the Gods." Silmeria whispered.

  Brahms almost laughed then. She couldn't be farther off from the truth then if Silmeria had purposefully tried. But then he couldn't blame her. Few if any people could imagine the truth behind the vampires' origins. But it was a story Odin did his best to keep hidden, a story that not even a handful of people knew the truth behind. It was a story Brahms himself hadn't spoken of in a millennia, the vampire Lord keeping it his private burden.

  Of course, in the beginning, Brahms HAD tried to tell people. But few if any had been willing to believe, and Odin quickly killed off any who had heard the story, regardless of their belief. If Odin had his way, the god would have the true origins of the vampires die with Brahms and Hel. He'd bury them, just as surely as he buried the truths and reasons behind the war.

  The memories were heavy on his mind tonight. It was as though they were stirred by the fact he was about to feed his bride, and through that feeding reveal to her his past. There would be no avoiding it. Once Silmeria had enough of Brahms' blood in her, she would pick up on his past experiences. She would see his life, see him for what he was, both good and bad. It was actually unnerving to think he was about to expose himself so thoroughly to her. And yet he wanted that connection.

  "Silmeria...you are wrong in your assumptions." Brahms said to her. Silmeria turned slowly to look at him, blue eyes full of doubts. But amidst the uncertainty, he could see how hungry she was. "It is no fault of your own. Odin has kept you, kept everyone ignorant of the truth."

  "There you go again." Her tone came out fierce, Silmeria glaring at him. "Making claims that Odin has lied to us Valkyries."

  "He has." Brahms insisted. "And in ways I doubt you could imagine. Your world is about to change. Everything you knew, everything you believed in? It's going to be turned upside down."

  "Because I'm about to feed?" He was glad Silmeria didn't try to deny what was about to happen. It just proved she was ready, actually accepting this aspect of her life.

  "Because of that and more. Do you remember what I told you about there being memory in the blood?" Silmeria nodded. "When you feed, the memories will come. You will see things you never imagined, never though possible. You will learn the truth, the very foundation of your world shattering apart. This is no easy thing I offer you. You will put an end to your hunger, but open up new doors. The information you gain, it's enough to make Odin want to kill over."

  "Odin would already have me dead." Silmeria pointed out. "There's nothing that can change that."

  "You're right about that." Agreed Brahms. He reached for her hands, feeling Silmeria stiffen in response to that unasked for touch. "There's no doubt in my mind that the invasion force was so large because Odin feared you already knew about him."

  "I'm not yet ready to believe in this truth you claim to have." Silmeria told him.

  "But believe in it you must." Brahms insisted. "You won't be able to deny my memories."

  She fixed him with a look then. "We shall see about that."

  "You are confidant." He said approvingly. "That will serve you well."

  She let out a shaky breath. "I don't feel very confidant in the moment." Silmeria admitted.

  Brahms gave her a serious look. "Are you frightened?" It was enough that she hesitated, letting him know Silmeria was indeed afraid of what was about to happen. "Don't be. You can't hurt me."

  "Are you so sure about that?" Silmeria asked. "I mean.....I'm so hungry....hungrier than I can ever recall being....what if your blood isn't enough? What if I need more? What if it's too late, and I'm already on my way to becoming a revenant?"

  "Silmeria, fear not." Brahms was caressing his thumbs over the pulse points in her wrists. "That you can still think of these concerns, it shows your mind is still your own."

  "It doesn't make them any less valid!" She protested. He lifted her hands to his face, teasingly running his fangs over one finger. She seemed to shudder in response, her blue eyes riveted on the sight of his teeth on her skin. "Trying to distract me from my worries does not inspire any confidence..."

  "You need to trust me...."

  "I don't know if I can!" A terse admittance, but her eyes were still staring at his mouth.

  "Do you trust me enough to feed you?" He asked, more curious than anything else.

  Again she hesitated. "It's not that I trust you..." He had to fight not to prick her finger open for even one drop of blood. Not when she was starving so badly. "It's more I don't trust myself to feed on anyone else." Her eyes lowered, Silmeria ashamed. It left Brahms with the realization that the only reason she was allowing him to feed her, was that Silmeria feared draining anyone else to death.

  "Fear not." Brahms said out loud, lowering her hands. "I am more than capable of satisfying ALL your appetites." Her gaze jerked up at that, the blue flashing with annoyance. Silmeria had caught the insinuation in his promise. She didn't like it, but Brahms was already turning from her. But he didn't let go of her hand, using his grip on her wrist to urge her to follow him over to a chair.

  Silmeria's steps were reluctant, the girl trailing uncertainly in his wake. Brahms would sit down, her right wrist still captive in his massive grip. Brahms wanted to pull Silmeria down onto his lap, but somehow he restrained that impulse. Instead he fixed her with a serious look, ignoring the way his heart seemed to quicken it's tempo. "Are you ready?"

  "As ready as I'll ever be." Silmeria said, still resisting when he pulled her closer. She wouldn't go down on his lap, the former Valkyrie actually putting a hand out to stop herself from falling. That hand o
f hers would land on Brahms' chest, the skin there exposed by the open sides of his vest. The touch was an electric feeling, both vampires gasping. Silmeria's eyes went wider, she was staring at were her hand was now. Her body was positioned between Brahms' spread legs, and all she needed to do was bend forward slightly to bite him.

  But Silmeria wasn't taking that final step, instead just standing there. Through the wrist he held, Brahms could feel the tension in her arm, Silmeria still holding herself so stiff. He studied her as she stared at him, her hand frozen on his chest. A full minute would go by, his heart beat seeming to ring in his ears.

  "What's wrong?" Brahms asked softly. Silmeria just shook her head no, not saying anything. "Come now. You can't actually hurt me. It will be fine." That hand of hers was holding her back, keeping Brahms from plastering her against his body. Silmeria's fangs had lengthened, the lower tips pressing into her pouty bottom lip. It was a sensual sight, the white fangs on top of the reddish pink lips.

  She was on the verge, so close to feeding and yet still holding back. Silmeria had gone as still as a statue, refusing to do anything, let alone feed. "Silmeria?"

  "I...I can't..." She finally whispered.

  "You can." He insisted.

  "No....it's not as easy as I thought it would be."

  "Nothing is ever as easy." He teased, and raised her right hand towards his neck. Brahms knew what he had to do, the thing needed to give Silmeria that final irresistible push towards feeding. He place her hand against his neck, and using her own claws, began to slice open his skin. He never broke eye contact with her as he did this, Brahms watching as Silmeria's eyes widened. He even saw the gasp that escaped her, felt the trembles that started in her arm. And then Silmeria's eyes closed, the blood welling out of him.

  But try as she might to block out the fact that Brahms was bleeding, Silmeria couldn't. Her nostrils flared, showing she had scented the blood. A low voiced growl rumbled out of her, Brahms no longer needed to hold her hand. Instead Silmeria fingered the blood, getting her fingers thoroughly coated with it before bringing them to her lips. Her tongue snaked out, the vampire tasting blood for the first time. She moaned, and her eyes opened. But it was not Brahms' face she looked out, Silmeria instead staring at his neck.