I was born to the name of Rachel Weatere in the year 1684, more than three hundred years ago.The one who changed me named me Risika, and Risika I became, though I never asked what it meant.I continue to call myself Risika, even though I was transformed into what I am against my will.By day, Risika sleeps in a shaded room in Concord, Massachusetts.By night, she hunts the streets of New York City.She is used to being alone.But now someone is following Risika.Someone has left her a black rose, the same sort of rose that sealed her fate three hundred years ago.Three hundred years ago Risika had a family -- a brother and a sister who loved her.Three hundred years ago she was human.Now she is a vampire, a powerful one.And her past has come back to torment her.This atmospheric, haunting tale marks the stunning debut of a promising fourteen-year-old novelist.From the Hardcover edition.