Vampire Forgotten by Rachel Carrington Page A

bit.”
    Mischa’s head rested against his chest and even as she fell into a deep slumber, the tears still rained down her cheeks.
     “Rhad?”  Her voice called to him in the darkness, and his arms tightened around her, offering reassurance.
    “Yeah, baby?”
    “What is that?” Fear tinged the question, and Rhad looked up. A few feet away, he saw a silvery cloud floating toward them. 
    Instantly, he was on his feet, pulling her up with him. He placed his body in front of Mischa’s. “Stay back.”
     “So you’re Rhad.”
    “Rianna?”  Mischa moved around Rhad for a better look.
    The cloud dissipated, leaving Rianna, a tall brunette with sparkling blue eyes, standing in its place.  Mischa clapped her hand over her mouth “What does this mean?  What are you doing?  Is this some kind of a joke?”
    “Holy shit!” Hamrick lifted his head off the ground, his mouth hanging slack. “I killed you.”
    “ I remember .” Rianna shook her head slowly and advanced.  “ And this is no joke, Mischa.  I’ve been watching you.”
    A sob broke from Mischa’s lips. “He killed you. Hamrick killed you.”
    “I kind of know that already, Sis.”
    Hamrick tried to push himself to his feet, but before Mischa could take her next breath, Rhad gave him an elbow between the shoulder blades. The man went flat again, his face buried into the soil.
    Mischa gave a little laugh which ended on another sob. The blood drained from her face as the ghostly form of her sister hovered near her.  “This can’t be happening.”  She shook her head wildly.  “I was…we were coming to find you.  Something brought me here.   I was home in Boston, and I kept hearing your voice.  You were calling me here.”
    Rianna floated in closer, and cold air brushed over Mischa’s skin.  “I didn’t want to, but I knew you wouldn’t stop looking for me. You had to know the truth.”
    A sob scrambled out of her chest.  “This isn’t real. I can’t do this.”  She took a backwards step.   “I thought I was coming to save you, but now I find,” she waved a hand toward her sister’s ethereal form.  “This.  I was too late.”
    “ No,” Rianna protested.  “ You weren’t too late. What happened to me was not your fault, and you couldn’t have stopped it.”
    “You don’t know that!” Mischa screamed.  “You couldn’t know that! If I had gotten here sooner, if we’d found Hamrick first—you don’t know that!”  Hysteria overtaking her, she fell to her knees and covered her face with her hands. 
    Grief compelled a torrent of weeping.  She barely felt the hands on her shoulders, drawing her to her feet, lifting her into strong arms.  She didn’t raise her head even when Rhad carried her away, away from her sister’s ghostly form, away from knowledge she didn’t want.
     
    Mischa woke to bright sunlight streaming in through the mouth of the cave.  She knew Rhad slept beside her, and she didn’t attempt to waken him.  Instead, she extricated herself from his arms and walked on shaky legs to the entrance of the cave where they’d slept. 
    She’d cried herself to sleep, and now, in the bright light of morning, numbness coated her soul.  Rianna had been her only family, and now, she’d lost her.  She’d failed her parents.  She’d promised she’d take care of her.  Biting her fist to keep from crying out loud, she stumbled into the clearing and leaned against the nearest tree.
    “I’ve been waiting for you to wake up,” came Rianna’s painfully familiar voice.
    Mischa’s breath came out in a shudder.  “You shouldn’t be here.  You’re dead.”
    Rianna made a rude noise.  “ It’s not polite to remind me, Mischa, though you always were the logical one.”
    Mischa tipped her face to the sky but even the warmth of the sun couldn’t restore the light which had dimmed within her.  “I don’t know what I’m going to do now.”
    “ Don’t give me that.  You’ve always known what