Hungry Cowboy

by Charlize Starr

  "No. And neither were Leila or Becky. The witches didn't hurt any of us."

  Henry pulled her into his arms–no, just one arm. It was only then that she realized he held something… a tiny something wrapped in blankets. Rachel's eyes widened as she took in the small face with eyes that were blinking slowly at her. Nestled in Henry's strong arms was a baby. Their baby.

  Rachel's hand drifted to her stomach. It was soft, significantly smaller. How was it possible? Had the pain from forcing the vision caused her to miss her entire labor?

  "You passed out," Henry said. His voice shook and she could see raw emotion in his eyes. "We didn't think we would get you to the hospital in time. I almost lost you."

  Rachel closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. "Tell me what happened."

  After she went into full, active labor, Becky had run after Leila and Henry. They had returned to find three of the king's witches converging on Rachel. Becky had gone to Rachel, trying to help her, while Henry and Leila fought the witches back.

  Their magic had nearly overpowered the two, but Leila had accidently started a fire and the smoke had filled the house. In the confusion, they had managed to get out of the building and to the hospital, where Rachel's body had miraculously delivered the baby while she was being prepped for an emergency C-section. The witches hadn't followed.

  "We have to get out of here before they come back," Rachel said.

  "They won't attack the hospital," Henry said. "I'm sure of it now. The best defense for the vampire kingdom is secrecy, and if there was a magical attack in such a public place…"

  Rachel nodded. She wanted to take her baby, but her arms felt so weak. She needed a little rest and a little food before she concentrated on healing herself. "Let me see our son."

  Henry smiled. "You mean our daughter."

  A girl? "You said vampire royalty only had boys."

  "We always have. But then none of our mothers have been Seers. Witches usually have daughters, don’t they?"

  "I don't know." Rachel touched her daughter's face. "Have you named her?"

  Henry shifted their little girl, laying her on Rachel's chest. "I was hoping… if you're not opposed… Cheri."

  Cheri. After the bride he had left behind. Rachel leaned back, thinking. She liked the older woman. They had no idea whether she was alive or dead, and she knew that weighed heavily on Henry. If naming their daughter after the grandmotherly woman helped, then it was for the best.

  "I love it. It's the perfect name for our daughter."

  "Cheri. Our little princess. For the first time in thousands of years…" Henry kissed her forehead. "Perhaps with a girl, my father will rethink his position. We've never had a princess before. Maybe it's only with princes that the king dies."

  The flood of visions that had caused her to go into labor came rushing back. Rachel flinched, sucking in a deep breath.

  "He won't," she blurted.

  Henry's brows furrowed.

  "Before I… I managed to force a vision. I think it's why I went into labor… but I saw the future, Henry. I saw your father trying to kill you. Strangling you."

  What little color there was in Henry's face drained away.

  "He's not going to change, Henry. I'm sorry. He's going to try to kill you."

  Chapter Eight

  After Rachel fell asleep again and Leila and Becky returned, Henry took his leave of them. The magic shield protecting him from the ill effects of the sun was a little weaker since it was only Leila maintaining it, but she did the best she could on her own, and the sun didn't bother him too much.

  Henry didn't want to think about the shield or the sun. He walked along the streets outside of the hospital, trying to let the sheer number of things to see, smell, taste, touch and hear overwhelm his senses, but he couldn't pay attention to his surroundings. The knowledge Rachel had given him about this father weighed too heavily on him.

  His father, the man he loved, the man who had raised him, was going to try to kill him.

  If it was just his life on the line, he might have been able to accept his fate. But it wasn't just him. It was Rachel's life, too. Leila, Becky, and now little Cheri. All of them were relying on him. If his father had decided to kill him, then they would all die. That was something that he couldn’t accept.

  It was prophesized that he would kill his father someday. And this is how the prophecy comes true. Because he won't let me and my brides alone.

  Henry sat on the sidewalk and wept, not caring who saw him. He hated himself for this, but he knew it was the only choice he had. He had to return to his home and take the kingdom by force. He had to kill his father, or else his father would kill what mattered most to him.

  He wasn't sure how long he stayed there, mourning his father and the relationship they had had. If it wasn't for that stupid prophecy, would any of this have happened?

  Yes, a voice whispered in his mind. Because he would have still told you to kill Rachel.

  Rachel.

  Henry stood, straightening his shirt and dusting off the seat of his pants. His eyes felt raw and scratchy, but he wiped the remnants of tears from his face and headed back to his brides and his little daughter. Whatever happened now, they were his family. He had to protect them, even if it meant giving up the family he had grown up with.

  When he returned to the hospital room, Rachel was awake and feeding Cheri. Becky and Leila were both in the room as well, and from the looks of pity they gave him, he knew Rachel had told them what she had seen. He avoided looking at Leila. After the months they had spent together on the run, their relationship had much improved, but he wouldn't say that she was a friend. He didn't want her pity.

  "I have made a decision," he said. "I'm going to fulfill the prophecy that was made at my birth. I'm going back."

  "I thought you would," Leila said, as Rachel made a noise of protest. "I'm going with you."

  Henry shook his head.

  "I'm a witch, I know how to take care of myself. Besides, you shouldn’t have to kill your own father. With any luck, we can wrangle it so that I'm the one who actually…"

  Henry narrowed his eyes at the young woman. He couldn’t believe that she had ever taken a life before. Would she be able to do it now? "I'll do better if I don't have to worry about you, Leila. You're only seventeen."

  "Eighteen, now. My birthday was last week. Not that it really matters. If you fail, my sister is going to die." She lifted her chin stubbornly. "I'm coming. Becky can watch after Rachel."

  Rachel reached for his hand and squeezed it gently. She turned to Leila, and the young witch put her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes.

  "I'm going and that's final. If you try to make me stay behind, I'll just follow after you and probably trip up security or something, so there's no point in arguing with me."

  Henry couldn’t help but smile. If nothing else, Leila never gave up when she knew what she wanted to do. He nodded. "Then I will bring you with me. But you do as I say when I say, and if it looks bad, you get out. Understood? Your safety and life come first."

  "Obviously," Leila said with a shrug, but Henry knew that he might as well be talking to a brick wall–she wasn't going to give up even if she ended up faced with a dozen armed guards. He just hoped that her magic was going to be enough to protect her.

  "I'll watch after her," he promised Rachel, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

  "More like I'll watch after him," Leila said with a grin. "And you take care of my niece, got it?"

  Rachel shot her an annoyed glance. "Leila, I'm older than you. It should be me protecting you, not the other way around."

  "And when I eventually have a kid, you'll have your chance. Because it's not going to be Princey's kid and he'll have to deal with the fact that I'm not his bride."

  Henry frowned. "I would never hurt—"

  Rachel cut him off. "Of course you wouldn't." Her eyes shone with fear, but she managed to smile at him. "Don't get yourself strangled to death."

 
Henry kissed her again. He couldn’t speak past the lump in his throat, so kissed little Cheri's head and nodded to Becky before he turned on his heel and left the room. Leila was soon beside him. They headed out together, not speaking.

  ***

  After the brightness of the world above ground, the tunnel that led them back down to the vampire city felt sinister. Being encased by darkness once more had shivers running down Henry's spine. Or maybe that was because the familiar sights of his home were now enemy territory. As expected, there were no guards preventing their entry to the tunnels that led to the city, but the deeper they got, the tenser Henry became.

  "Look, we need to talk before it's too late," Leila said suddenly.

  Henry almost pointed out that now wasn't the time for idle chitchat, either, but swallowed it back. There was a chance–a good chance, however much he wanted to believe otherwise–that Leila, if not both of them, were not going to come out of this alive. If they didn't speak now, they might never have the chance again.

  "I know that you wouldn't hurt me," Leila continued stiffly. "I went into this whole thing expecting… well, expecting you to be different. As soon as Rachel started having her visions about vampires, I looked you guys up and I wasn't keen on what I learned. I tried my best to convince Rachel to turn away from what she was seeing, but once she sets her mind to something, you can't convince her to change it."

  "Yes," Henry smiled. "You two are very similar that way."

  Leila stopped. She grabbed Henry's arm and turned him towards her. "But I was wrong. I thought she was just seeing bits and pieces and was falling in love with something–someone–who wasn't real. But she saw the relevant stuff, I guess. Because you are exactly how she used to describe you. And you love her."

  Henry nodded seriously. "I do."

  "Good. Because she loves you. She's loved you since before the two of you ever met."

  Henry knew it, and that knowledge weighed heavily on him. Over the months, he had started to become more and more aware of just how well Rachel had known him even before he knew she existed. How much she loved him. If he was honest with himself, it frightened him at times. How could he repay the love that she gave him?

  "If you had been what I was expecting, rather than what you are, I'd have killed you by now." Leila shrugged at him and continued down the tunnel. "But you love her, too."

  "I do. I would die for her."

  From behind them, a deep, ominous voice rumbled. "You will have to."

  Chapter Nine

  Images of Leila and Henry huddled in a dark room kept coming to Rachel. Her head pounded and her stomach churned. In her arms, Cheri whimpered. Rachel wondered if her daughter had inherited her ability to see the future. She didn't remember much from her childhood, other than the terrifying visions that had been written off as nightmares until she was ten years old. How young did it start?

  His father's hands around his neck.

  Rachel flinched. The visions were coming more often, unbidden, when she was awake. Every time they left her feeling sick. In the two days since Henry and Leila had left, Rachel had healed herself and made a backup plan.

  "Are you going to be okay?" Becky slipped on the backpack that contained everything she would need to take care of the baby, including infant formula and a bottle. Her brow wrinkled in worry. "Wouldn't it be better if I went after them, and you stayed with the baby?"

  Rachel shook her head. "I'm a witch. Together, my magic and Leila's is quite powerful, even though we were not given a lot of formal training. I have a better chance to help Henry, and you have a better chance at hiding Cheri from the vampire king, should he continue looking for her."

  Becky sighed and gently took Cheri from Rachel's arms. The witch felt her eyes fill with tears. It took all of her determination not to take her baby back. This decision had been very difficult to make, but she couldn’t abandon Henry to whatever fate the future had for him. She had the sense that Cheri would be safe and grow up happy no matter what, but she didn't know what would happen to Henry and Leila.

  And so it was decided. She would return to the vampire city while Becky took Cheri and disappeared.

  "Once things are safe—"

  "I know," Becky said. "I have the burner cell. You'll call."

  Rachel managed a smile and kissed her daughter. "I love you, Cheri."

  "Be safe." Becky kissed her cheek.

  "I will." Rachel tried to sound confident. "I'll talk to you soon."

  ***

  Rachel hoped that all that she needed to do to return to the vampire city was return to the place where she and Leila had been captured and wait. So she did just that, standing on the bridge as the darkness stole the light around her. This time, when the starry, pin-prick eyes appeared, she wrapped her arms around herself. What if they just killed her?

  "I demand to see the king," she called. "I am the prince's bride—"

  "We know," a voice replied. "You demand to see the king? Your demands mean nothing, woman. But you are in luck. He demands to see you as well."

  Rachel tried to make out the faces in the darkness, but couldn't see anything other than their glowing eyes. She nodded, and when a hand took her arm, she let it lead her along. The Seer was surprised that she wasn't knocked out this time–but then, she supposed if she was meant to die, there was no point in rendering her unconscious.

  Every step felt like it took forever. Rachel was almost ready to use her magic to make these vampires go faster when she was brought into the light again. She was taken to the king and seated at a long, ebony table. The table was set with a roast chicken, but the smell, rather than making her mouth water, made Rachel think of Henry being strangled by his father. She swallowed down bile.

  "I did not expect that you would turn yourself in," the king said, pouring her a glass of wine. "I had my men hunting for you the moment my son returned."

  "Did he tell you that our child was born?" Rachel's voice shook, no matter how hard she tried to keep it calm. "A girl."

  "He told me. I don't believe him. Or you, for that matter. You would say anything…" The king shook his head. "What is it about you that turned my son from me? You're nothing special. I always thought my son cared for me. I didn't think he wanted to kill me."

  "He doesn't."

  The king offered her a smile, his two pearly fangs flashing. "We'll see about that."

  A shiver ran down Rachel's spine, but she raised her chin. "Have you ever considered that it could be your insistence that Henry kill me and our child that will lead to your death?"

  A dark look flashed over the king's face. He didn't answer, but at that moment the door opened. Leila and Henry were pushed into the room. Rachel jumped to her feet, but the king grabbed her by the arm, preventing her from running to her prince and sister. Henry went rigid when he saw her, his hands curling into fists.

  "Father, please. It doesn't have to—"

  The king held up his hand. "I don't know what this witch did to you, Henry. Some sort of spell, no doubt. It's the only explanation for any of this. You were a loyal son until you met her."

  Henry shook his head, his shoulders slumping. "No, father. I was a loyal son until you told me to kill her. I would have given up my claim as your heir, I would have left and lived on the surface for the rest of my days. You could have had another son, and none of this would have happened. But you told me to kill my bride and unborn child, and when I tried to run you wouldn’t let me be and continued to hunt us. You forced my hand."

  "You truly believe what you're saying." The king shook his head. "Do you really think that just because your son wasn't born under the surface, it would spare me from my fate as his grandfather?"

  "Look, asshole, the baby's a girl," Leila said, her hands curling. "And you're just talking yourself closer and closer to forcing Henry to kill you, so why don't you just let it go?"

  The king released Rachel, taking a threatening step towards Leila. Rachel raised her hands, ready to call on her magic, but th
e vampire stopped. Shaking his head, he turned to Henry again. "I am going to give you one last chance, Henry. Kill this woman and bring the child back to be taken care of. Do it." His voice softened. "I don't want to kill my son."

  Henry's shoulders slumped forward. He shook off the guard who held him and strode forward. He wrapped his arms around Rachel. She held him back, squeezing him tight. Her heart hammered as she looked at the king over her prince's shoulder. He stood tense, eyes hard, and Rachel knew he wasn't going to let this go, no matter how much Henry begged.

  "I will not kill my bride," Henry whispered. "And I won't let my daughter die. If you want this woman to die, Father, you will have to kill me with her."

  The king closed his eyes. He let out a deep, shuddering breath. "Very well, Henry. Say goodbye."

  "Leila," Rachel blurted, yanking herself away from Henry.

  Her sister knew what she meant to do and stomped on the instep of the vampire holding her. The guard winced. His grip didn't loosen, but his cry distracted the nearby vampires enough. Rachel threw her hands forward, pouring fire from her palms. The ebony table caught quickly. As the vampires shied away from the flames, Leila coated her own hands with black flame and grabbed the face of the vampire who held her. He howled and jerked away from her.

  The king snarled, lunging for Rachel, but Henry was between them faster than Rachel could see. Father and son clashed, both swinging fists and dodging blows.

  Rachel raced to Leila, grabbing her hand. The guard came at them, but they spun in a circle, drawing a line of dark fire between them and the vampires, who stumbled back from the heat. Leila's grip on her sister's hand tightened.

  "What now?"

  Rachel shook her head, at a loss.

  One of the vampires leaped through the flames. Grasping hands reached for her and she screamed. She heard Henry cry her name as Leila sent a blast of energy at the attacking vampire. His clothing was already all in flames, and as he passed through the fires again he shrieked, writhed and was consumed, crumbling into ash. Rachel turned to where Henry and the king were fighting. Henry was fending off blows weakly, black cuts ripping open his chest. A silver knife flashed in the king's hand.