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“I tripped,” Sergio answered. He gripped his grandmother’s hand. It was terrifyingly cold.

“It’s freezing in here,” Cynthia exclaimed, her breath a mist.

“It was here. I saw the ghost. ” His heart was beating so fast in his chest it almost hurt. He bundled his grandmother into his arms, gently shaking her. “Grandmama, wake up. C’mon. Wake up. ”

Cynthia set the shotgun aside, quickly slid onto the edge of the bed, and reached out to touch the older woman. “She’s so cold!”

“C’mon, Grandmama. C’mon, wake up. ” The old woman lay limp in his arms as he continued to shake her. Her lips were slightly moving, but there was no sound coming from them.

With tender motions, Cynthia rubbed Innocente’s hands and arms, trying to warm them. “Wake up, Innocente. Please wake up. ”

Eyelashes fluttering, Innocente muttered, “Bianca. . . ”

“Yes, she was here again. I saw her,” Sergio said.

“. . . she’s. . . ” Innocente struggled to open her eyes. “. . . she’s what Amaliya is. . . ” The old woman sank back into unconsciousness.

“What does she mean?” Cynthia asked, her dark eyes seeking solace in Sergio’s.

“I don’t know. ” Fearful, Sergio shook the older woman with a little more vigor. “Grandmama, wake up!”

Innocente’s eyes gradually opened. “Stop shaking me. . . ”

“Then wake up!”

Her tiny, veiny hand slapped his arm. “I’m awake. . . ”

“Sit her up, Sergio,” Cynthia ordered. She grabbed some decorative pillows from the chair in front of the small vanity where Innocente set them before crawling into bed. In the morning she always made her bed and arranged the colorful pillows against the headboard.

Sergio helped Innocente sit up as Cynthia propped the embroidered pillows behind her. “Go get her something to drink, honey. ”

Cynthia hurried out of the room.

“Grandmama, talk to me. ” Sergio shook her again as her amber eyes closed.

Visibly forcing her eyes open, Innocente focused on her grandson’s face. “I saw Bianca in my dreams again. ”

“I saw her standing at the end of your bed. ”

“Her eyes were white like Amaliya’s when she calls the dead,” Innocente continued.

“I saw that. ”

“She’s what Amaliya is. ”

“I don’t understand. What do you mean by that?”

Cynthia returned with a glass of water and Innocente took it gratefully. After several small sips, Innocente nestled back on the pillows. She looked a little more lucid, but also very troubled. “Bianca is like Amaliya. She can call the dead. ”

“Even though she’s dead?” Sergio asked, confused by her words.

“No, no. She’s not dead. I was wrong. ” Innocente rubbed her brow. “She’s a vampire, too. ”

Cynthia inhaled sharply as Sergio squinted in confusion.

“You’re not making sense. I saw her standing in this room. Vampires can’t get in the house, Grandmama. We had the house blessed by the priest. ”

“She’s astral projecting,” Innocente explained.