Valkyrie's Curse

Boil, boil toil and trouble; a new batch of stories are beginning to bubble. 
Ghouls and goblins have come to play, witches and warlocks rule the day.
A taste of horror, screams of fright; black cats and monsters come out at night.
A month of terror for you to see  things aren't always as they appear to be.

Welcome to Storytime Trysts Octoberfest!

 

 

As always bear in mind that these are first draft stories.  Final manuscripts will be slightly different after editing revisions. You are always free to leave comments about anything pertaining to the stories here. 

 

For my contribution we are going to a small island off the coast of Europe, part of Denmark, the island of Zealand, to a little known town called Lejre. (Pronounced Ledger) 

 

 

Valkyrie's Curse

 

by

 

Ellie Mack

 

 

Scott set the radar equipment back in the plastic tub as he watched Helena.  She was gorgeous.  He had watched her over the past three years in classes.  She was involved with someone else, but  he hoped that it would end.  Whoever Bryce was, he didn’t deserve her.

He cleared his throat.   “Hey Helena.  I finished with the radar, we’ll have the whole area mapped  by noon tomorrow.  What are you working on there?”

Helena turned towards Scott, leaning back in the folding chair. “Just reviewing the original finds of Price and Alkamp; compared to the 1926 discoveries of Lindquist.  There are so many discrepancies.  We have to be careful to keep the site clean.”

“Yeah, if we fail to produce they fail to pay us.”  He walked the short distance to the chair next to her.   “I need my pay to cover next semester.  This is the only income I’ve got till we get back home.”

She smiled at him, it was one of the things she liked about Scott, his practical side.  The fact that he worked to pay his own way, that he didn’t just exist on the student loans which had come to be the norm.  She herself had spent nearly half her trust fund to cover her schooling.  Scott competed with her for top student in the department.  The past two semesters he’d beaten her.  Scott worked harder than anyone she knew.  He had two scholarships and at least two jobs.  What he didn’t have was a huge amount of debt.

Bryce on the other hand, had an enormous amount of debt.  When Helena had shared the fact that she had spent  part of her trust fund, he started asking for numbers.  When she told him that she only had a small amount remaining, he dumped her for Savannah Rogers.  Savannah had the intelligence of a flea, and the ambition of a sloth.  Luckily for her though, daddy had a lot of money,  enough to pay for a boob job right out of high school to guarantee her  local modeling jobs, and work the front desk of his cycle shop. 

Helena leaned back over the back of the chair stretching.  “What do you say we go into Roskilde before the undergrads show up?”

Scott startled.  “You mean  just the two of us?”

“I don’t bite Scott.  Come on we’ve been in the department since we were sophomores together.“  Then she grinned and added,  “Well, I won’t bite too hard anyway.”

“Sure, if you can drive.”   He shifted slightly.  He’d wanted her that long, yes.  He wanted her the first day of class, but decided that he’d get to know her better.  By the third week of the semester, Bryce had already asked her out.  He’d been kicking himself ever since.

“No problem.  Let me wrap up here.  I’ll meet you at the Land Rover in about ten minutes ok?  I’ll just go change into something less grimy.”

He could have done back flips!  He hurried to his tent, and quickly changed into a fresh shirt.  Scott stood, leaning against the Land Rover when Helena walked towards it, talking on her cell phone.  His heart instantly sank.  It was probably Bryce.

When she closed her phone and tucked it away, she looked irritated.  She climbed silently into the vehicle.  He did likewise.  She turned the ignition on, then slammed it into gear and sped away, throwing gravel behind them.

 “Whoa there Speedy. Want to talk about it?”

She sighed, a very loud exhale before slamming on the brakes and pulling over on the side of the road.  “It’s just everything, alright?  First Bryce dumps me as I’m getting on the plane, now Dr. Montgomery wants to make a camp inspection tomorrow and he’s scheduled the Denmark officials to visit Friday.  Hell, we don’t even have the place mapped yet.  We just freaking got here!  We’re not even fully staffed and he wants everything done now!” 

Scott leaned over and took her hand in his.  “It’s OK.  We’ll do what we can.  Brad is holding down camp with his cyber chick. We’ll get on the mapping first thing in the morning.”    He squeezed her hand. “Tell you what, I’ll buy.  You need to unwind!”

They drove the rest of the short trip discussing the site, the undergrads, rumors about the professor, and reminiscing about their first two digs together.  By the time Helena parked the car at Gimle’s, they were laughing together.    The shared a quick meal, then headed downstairs to the nightclub area.

Somewhere between the second and third Carlsberg, they shared a slow dance together.  Scott held her close, but was cautious about making her feel pressured or obligated.

“You know what Scott?”  She laid her head on his shoulder.

He hugged her tighter, his hand gently caressing her back.  God she smelled good and felt so good in his arms.   “What Helena?”

She lifted her head and looked him in the eyes, leveling a serious look at him.   “You are a true gentleman.”  Then she kissed him softly.  Her lips barely brushing against his, but lingering as she gently sucked  his lower lip.

Scott was instantly hard.  His body wanted to walk her to the back wall and take her right now in a frenzied fashion.  His head said she deserved so much more.  As she started to pull away, his hand flew to the back of her head and held her there as he deepened the kiss, his tongue teasing, swiping against her lips, requesting access.  Slowly she parted for him.  As they stood together in their embrace kissing, the room surrounding them seemed to disappear.

After what seemed like a half hour he released her.  He clasped her hand and pulled her along behind him.  He ordered them another Carlsberg.  They walked hand in hand to a grassy knoll just before the marina at the head of Roskilde Fjord.  They sat on the knoll, staring out over the calm deep waters of the fjord.  The sun was just beginning to come up, and Scott thought there was no better time to make his move.  He leaned over and kissed Helena.  She readily responded to his kiss. In  a matter of seconds he had her on her back, kissing her deeply, caressing her skin, cupping her breast.  Occasionally they came up for breath.  He caressed over her stomach and down her legs tenderly, lovingly.

He broke the kiss long enough to scoot her between his legs, sitting up with his arms embracing her.  He kissed her once more, a rather aggressive demanding kiss, but broke it off.  “Let’s watch.”

The sun was just breaking the horizon.  They sat watching until it was fully over the water.  Scott held her in his arms, kissing her arms, her neck, and nibbling at her ear.  Then he turned her in his arms and kissed her deeply one final time .  “We best be heading back.”

They walked to the Land Rover hand in hand.  He pushed her against the car, pinning her, pressing into her wanting to devour her but knowing he needed to slow down.  He didn’t want a casual thing with Helena.  He’d wanted her for three years, he could wait just a little longer.  He released her and walked to the passenger’s side. 

When they reached their camp, she tugged him into her tent.  They fell asleep fully clothed laying in each other’s arms. 



Twin Desires Pt 6

Katrinna is trouble with a capitol T.  How one girl can find so much trouble is beyond comprehension.  With this week's harrowing excitement, will Justin come to her rescue?

 

 

 

 

Twin Desires

Chapter Six

by

 

Macie Snow

 

I groan and look up at the sky. Night was falling, but tired as I may be, Justin would not allow us to stop. Of course I would not voice my complaints. I understood that Adrinna was being rushed away even as we slowly worked our way through the forest. Volos, on the other hand, had no such urgency as he continued to voice his complaints.

“My men cannot protect you if they are tired. We would be a hindrance at best,” Volos implores, begging Justin to stop with his unspoken words.

“We cannot afford to stop. Your men have more rest than us. She is holding up better than you seem to be,” Justin says, nodding my way while glaring at Volos. I duck my head as a slow blush rises to my cheeks. “I cannot help but question if you are really helpful to us at all, considering all you seem to be able to do is whine.”

Volos snaps his mouth shut and glares a Justin, blessedly silent for the time being. I silently thank Justin, though his words might have been a tad too harsh, for the silence.  I knew Volos would start complaining again shortly.

 

Zypher huffs and I rub his neck, running my fingers through his silky mane. After the mad dash out of the castle, I’d hardly given the poor stallion more than a half hours rest, and it was obvious the horse’s strength was starting to wane.

Behind me, Volos released an exaggerated sigh.

I groan and turn in my saddle. “Stop being such a baby and just sleep in your saddle. Justin has some rope that you can…”

The words die in my throat as I stare in horror at the dark figure approaching us from the sky. The bird was huge, and mean, if the gore hanging from it was anything to go by. The sun setting behind it provided little light to see details, but I knew something bad when I saw it. And this was bad with a capital B. Raldyn, the rider bringing up the rear of our group, smirks at me, obviously thinking I was gaping at him.

“Justin?” I call our nervously.

Justin groans. “Not you too!”

I can only gape as the huge bird closes in on our group, black talons stretched towards us.

Ajax, the rider directly behind me, sees the horror in my face and follows my gaze. His face pales as he shouts, “Run! It’s a Deathraptor!”

Suddenly, all the horses are running, spurred on by instinct. The bird screeches, likely upset that we had noticed its approach, and startles Flinn, who leaps forward, running even faster. Justin scrambles to tighten his grip on the reigns, righting himself before he falls to the ground.

“Into the forest!” Volos yells. “It can’t go into the dense trees!”

The gypsies swerve to the left, leaving Justin and I to go right. Our horses crash through the underbrush as the bird chases Justin and me, knocking aside branches as it tries to find a way into the trees. Branches rain down on us and we urge the horses to go faster as a river comes into view. Flinn races across, Justin urging her to go even faster, but Zypher hesitates, launching me into the river.

“Justin!” I scream as the current pulls my head under and drags me along. I kick my way to the surface, and when I break through to the surface again I see that the current had drug me nearly fifty feet away, and was swiftly pulling me further downstream.

“Justin!” I scream, coughing out water. “Help!”

Justin yanks Flinn to a stop and gapes at me in horror before urging Flinn down the bank of the river after me. I look around, searching for a tree branch, a rock,  or anything to grab a hold of and slow my rapid flight down the river. But nothing useful is in sight, and I spot the Deathraptor circling above me.

“Justin! Look-” I gasp as the current pulls me under, right as the giant bird dives straight for my head.

The river tosses me head over heel, and I twist, trying to fight my way back to the surface of the water and breathe. I kick my legs, aiming towards what I assumed to be the surface, but end up being bounced against the riverbed. I claw at the water, hoping to grab hold of something, anything to get my bearing. The river offers no mercy as it pounds me against its rocky bottom. As my lungs burn, begging for oxygen, I claw at the murky water. Miraculously, I find myself clutching what seemed to be a rope. As the line went taut, from holding be back from the rivers relentless pull, I feel a sudden jerk and my head is pulled free from the river.

I gasp in the sweet oxygen as sound bombards my eardrums. The Deathraptor was screeching, circling some trees on the riverbank where I could vaguely make out Flinns hind flank as I was pulled from the river. The gypsies were on the opposite river bank, shouting and generally making a ruckus as they tried to distract the Deathraptor from Justin.

I groan as I’m pulled onto the bank, bruises already forming on my shoulders. Letting go of the rope I drag myself towards the relative safety of the trees, and lean against the nearest trunk sighing. Gasping in great gulps of oxygen, I soon hear someone running towards me from the woods. I tense, reaching for my dagger, but relax when Justin comes into view.

“Katrinna!” Justin cries in relief, falling to his knees a foot away from me. “Are you alright?”

I sniffle as water drips down my nose, and my bottom lip quivers. Why did he always stop a foot away from me? “I’m fine,” I sniffle. “Zypher stopped is all. I didn’t- didn’t do anything. He just…” I take a deep, quivering breath, trying not to burst into tears as the shock sets in.

“It’s okay Katrinna,” Justin whispers, staring at me intently, his hands clutching at his knees, knuckles white. “You’re safe. Everything’s okay.”

The Deathraptor screeches overhead and Justin winces.

“Well…” Justin starts, but I cut him off by flinging myself at him, throwing my arms around his neck.

“I almost died!” I cry out in hiccupping sobs. “I couldn’t find the surface, I couldn’t do anything it just- And I couldn’t breathe and I couldn’t think and I couldn’t do anything!” I cry out.

Justin nervously pats my back as I sob into his shoulder. But our moment together was brief, as from across the river we hear a loud, panicked scream.

Twin Desires Chapter 5

While Katrina and Sir Justin are in hot pursuit of Adrinna and her captor, Adrinna is helpless against her kidnapper.  Today you get to hear from Adrinna. 

Chapter Five
by
Macie Snow
 

              

               My kidnapper was a man. I knew that almost instantly. After he had drug me out the window, he immediately bound and gagged me. Then, contrary to what I expected him to do, we remained on the roof of the castle. I could hear Katrinna screaming for help as her cries grew ever fainter. Shortly after, her voice disappeared completely, I saw her run out of the castle, through the courtyard and into the stables, in her nightgown. I roll my eyes at her rashness. Katrinna had never been one to think things through.

         I try to scream again when I see Father and his men running after Katrinna, but my voice is muffled by the gag in my mouth. The man who had drug me out of my bedroom turns to me and whispers furiously, “Do not scream. If you cooperate I can promise that no unnecessary harm will befall you.” He then turns back to the scene unfolding in the courtyard.

         I frown, but make no further attempts at noise, and instead, study the man who was currently in the process of kidnapping me. He wore a black cloak that masked his face, much to my frustration, but the crest wrapped around his bicep was clear as day. He was a Saludynian. I make a mental note to cooperate, knowing he probably would not hesitate to cause me much pain. Saludynians were renowned for their violence and utter lack of mercy. I shake my head to clear it from the unpleasant thoughts and look back to the scene in the courtyard.

         We watch Katrinna storm out on a black stallion, barely making it through the gate in time as Father’s knight tried to stop her. We saw Father yell at the knights until his face turned scarlet, and soon after Justin raced out on his buckskin horse, Flinn. After that, things were silent as we waited, presumably for Justin to come back, Katrinna in tow. I stifled a giggle to think of their meeting in the woods. Katrinna tried her best to hide her crush on Sir Justin, but it was obvious she had fallen for him. And I found it quite humorous, especially as Father did not object to our marrying a knight, as he himself was one. But Katrinna never paid attention to Father’s stories, nor his lessons, and believed her crush to be forbidden love.

         Just before dawn comes, my captor stands. He picks me up, roughly throwing me over his shoulder before starting the slow descent to the ground. We move slowly, he sticks to the shadows and freezes anytime we are near guards.

         Eventually, we end up in the woods behind the castle. My captor drops me to the ground outside a well hidden cave. I struggle against my bonds furiously as he enters the cave. He comes out quickly, leading a chestnut horse. I freeze as he checks the saddle.

         “Alright princess,” he says, he slides his hood off as he walks towards me.

         He is younger than I had expected.  No more than a year older than myself. He has wavy dark brown hair that falls in his eyes, and stops at the nape of his neck. His face is perfectly sculpted, body strong and muscular, with slightly tan skin. But what surprises me most are his startling gold eyes.

         “I will let you move of your own free will, and let you talk if you cooperate,” he says, stopping in front of me. “Will you cooperate?”

         I nod furiously. He hesitates at my cooperation, but reaches down and releases my bonds, before removing my gag.

         “Who are you?” I whisper hoarsely, before clearing my throat. “What do you want with me?”

         “My king has been wronged.  I was sent to right that wrong.” he says, walking to his horse. He pulls a bundle of cloth out of the saddlebag. “Put these on.  They are less conspicuous than your current…attire,” he says tossing the bundle. I grasp for the bundle, and barely catch it. Upon inspection, I realize that it is clothing.

         I stand shakily and start towards the cave, but the man jumps in my path and grabs my bicep in a bruising grip, preventing me from going further.

         “I am only changing,” I sigh, exasperated. “You cannot honestly expect me to undress in front of you.”

         He blushes deeply and releases my arm before stepping aside. I walk into the edge of the cave and change as quickly as possible. There are black pants, and a simple brown tunic. When I walk out of the cave, nightgown in hand, he gives me worn brown boots and a cap before grabbing my nightgown away from me.

         “Tie your hair into a bun and cover it with that cap,” he says as he quickly folds my nightgown up and shoves it into his saddlebags.

         “But…” I trail off. The brown cap was atrocious, besides that, if I covered my hair, how would people be able to recognize me? How could I  call for help? For if anyone saw my hair, they would recognize me instantly, as I was practically the only person in the kingdom with such bright golden hair.

         “Just do it,” he grumbles angrily. I reluctantly tie my hair into a bun and cover it with the atrocious cap.

         “We are going to ride long, and hard. We will take very few breaks, and will stop for nothing,” the man says, tugging on the saddle straps.

         “Why?” I ask.

         He glares at me, eyes a burning gold. “I will not answer ever little question that pops into your airy little head. I am trusting you will cooperate, but if you don’t, if you struggle or try to escape, I will take away all your freedom of movement, and life will be miserable for you until we reach the king,” he growls, tying a rope to the horses saddle.

         I bristle at the insult, but say nothing. I had to cooperate and be good, or else get hog-tied again.

         “Can you just answer one question?” I ask softly, trying not to provoke him.

         He sighs and turns around to glare at me. “What?”

         “What is your name?”

         He frowns and turns to tug on the rope tied to the saddle. Then he walks over to me, grabs my right wrist, and ties the rope around it. His hands are firm, but gentle.

         “Nigel. My name is Nigel,” he mutters, before releasing my wrist and stomping back to the horse.

         I glance at the rope around my wrist. It was not tight, but I wouldn’t be able to slip my hand out of it. The knot would also be impossible to untie with just one hand. I sigh. Nigel wasn’t taking any chances. I walk to the horse stiffly when he tugs on the rope. Nigel helps me onto the saddle, before climbing on himself, trapping me between his arms and the reigns.

         “Try not to fall off, princess,” Nigel says tauntingly.

         I scowl, and open my mouth to reply that could very well stay on a horse, but the horse quickly leaps into a full sprint. I teeter, but Nigel’s arms keep me from falling off. I clutch the horse’s mane to keep from losing my balance, as Nigel chuckles softly behind me.

         I squeeze my eyes shut and try to think about something else. There was something tugging at the back of my mind, begging for my attention. Something about Nigel. I felt as if I had met him before, but I shove the thought away. Why would I know the attack dog of a brutal king?

         I could only hope that Katrinna, and Justin, figured out what was going on and saved me before we reached Saludyn. Or, even worse, their king.

Artistic Passions pt 3

Ben's been posting for a while now and he is gaining more confidence, and losing his nervousness.  This week's offering is a little hotter than the last couple.  A litle more graphic, a little more biting, scratching, but still the same artistic passion.  Leave him a message, encourage him, let him know what you think of his writing!

Artistic Passions Pt 3

by

Ben Hannigan

 

The couple slowly wandered over the beach, away from the clamour of the crowd; the blood; the police tape; towards home. They  stared out at the clouds appearing in the sky as if waking up with the world for the drudge of nine to five life. The lovers' hands entwined, ink and paint stained skin,  the casual touch of two people completely content with the world.

“You Know,” murmured the mousy haired girl, “we never did find my tights when we left for our meal.  Which was very romantic by the way,  a candlelit dinner for breakfast is like something from a film.”

“Oh, any ideas where those went? So does that mean you aren’t wearing any?” The young author replied with raised eyebrow.

“Why don’t you find out.” She giggled and grabbed her partner by the hair, kissing  him soundly, before bounding off at speed, daring him to chase her.  He responded with a gasp before chasing hungrily.

Barefooted the two lovers chased each other over sand,  grass, and over surf as they returned to the studio. It’s dark inside and as they reach the door they have caught each other, fumbling for the key becomes fumbling of a far raunchier sort as they stumble connected into the room and kick the door shut before attacking each other.

The usually pink tighted temptress was teasing him slowly, languidly stretching as she undid her skirt and let it fall; leaving her in a leather jacket and bare thighs that were usually covered by the tights that defined her. Her bra hit the floor followed by a shirt he recognised as his as she pounced on her target unzipping his hoody and attacking the bare chest beneath with tongue and nail.

He almost mewled with need as his boots were kicked off and she slid his jeans down devouring his shaft, sucking, tasting, devouring him as if she is desperate for the last drop of water in the world. His hands leaving claw marks in the wall as he shook, before pulling her up for a deep hard kiss.

He grabs her arse kissing her roughly, working his knee between her thighs. As he did so she felt the pressure of his body opening up to him. His hands slipped under her jacket, teasing at her  nipples. Each stroke causing her to scream and yowl as his left hand begins slipping into her folds, pushing up and into her wetness, violently thrusting into her. The frantic nature of gyration of her hips causing her to bounce against him, up and down his fingers, quickly soaking him with her juices.

He’s pushed back against the wall, she’s licking, scratching, tasting every inch even tonguing his tight hole and fingering him. Her other hand furiously attacking her own zones, she’s moaning, grinding against him.

They fall together moaning, her knickers are off now in the rush; she’s just in the leather jacket mounting him raising and lowering, riding his shaft as he moans. He flips her; thrusting hard,  fast, and deep. Its  rough.  There’s swearing, filthy pillowtalk, both stroking each others holes.  But its loving, gentle, both hard and fast; sweet yet violent.

She lifts up holding his hand, biting down on his neck and moans; “mine”.  He reaffirms the same, biting hard and screaming her name as he bucks and tremors, shaking in her arms as they thrust and spasm together before curling up; content, kissing and cuddling, not moving more than to drag a cover across themselves.

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