Lena Matthews

It was you, Jane-Anne. You're the yuki onna.

Quiet filled the room as soon as those words left my lips. I could feel the air around me thicken as a dreaded silence suffocated each of us. The truth had finally been released, and I hated every painful moment of it.

"What are you talking about, Lena?" Taylor asked.

"Do you have any strange markings, Jane-Anne?" I asked, trying to force my voice to be calm.

"No." Jane-Anne answered, her voice cracking.

"Are you sure? It would look like this." I said, sliding off my right glove. My Forbidden brand was completely exposed.

"I've never seen that in my life." said Jane-Anne.

"Lena, there's no way it's her." Kiara insisted.

"Turn around." I instructed Jane-Anne. I hadn't expected my words to come out so harshly, and Jane-Anne flinched. She turned around immediately, and I reached for the zipper of her red dress.

"What are you doing?" Jane-Anne asked.

"If you can't see it, it's probably because it's on your back or something." I explained. "Just trust me." Kiara snorted when I said "trust me".

"Fine." Jane-Anne agreed.

I took a shaky breath. More than anything, I wanted to be wrong. I moved my fluttering hands towards the red zipper. When I felt the cold metal touch my hands, I slowly pulled it down. I only had to unzip the dress a few inches before I saw the distinct F on the back of Jane-Anne's left shoulder.

"No way." Taylor whispered.

"Mrs. Pearce probably knew, and she kept it from everyone. That's why she kept the Forbidden from attacking at the meeting, and why she enlisted you two to keep her socially isolated." I said.

"I would never hurt anyone." Jane-Anne swore. "I don't know what's going on." She tried to zip her dress back up, but a large bandage on her left shoulder kept her from moving her arm too much. I helped Jane-Anne fix her dress, and part of me felt relieved when her Forbidden brand and injury from Jessica's dagger were concealed from view again.

"What exactly are you saying?" Taylor asked me.

"I'm saying that Jane-Anne was killed by Fuyuko Kazama, and that she came back as a yuki onna. Then, somehow, she killed Joshua Rodriguez, Rowan Peterson, and Flora Delaney." I answered.

It made perfect sense. Jane-Anne fit the predispositions fairly well. She was a Japanese female, and probably the only one that Makaya had forgotten to add to her list. She seemed so harmless, and it was hard to believe she could hurt someone.

"Yuki onna?" Jane-Anne asked.

"It's a type of Forbidden. Like a mermaid or a siren." I explained. "I'm one too." I showed her my brand again.

"What I wouldn't give to be a siren and shapeshift out of this." Taylor muttered under her breath.

"Sirens don't shapeshift, they just make you see someone you desire." said Kiara, proud of herself for correcting Taylor on something.

"Like your wife?" I asked, gears turning in my mind.

"I guess, if you had one and actually liked her," said Kiara. "Why?" 

Jane-Anne was a puppet, and someone else was pulling the strings. My jaw dropped as the realization struck me. The Forbidden source who had spoken to my father looked like my mom. She was a siren. Everything traced back to Makaya. Everything.

"You're worried about the wrong thing." I murmured, recounting Flora's last words.

We had been worried about the yuki onna, and overlooked everything else. The gaps in Jane-Anne's memory that weren't from Taylor. Carter nearly drowning. Jerome forgetting conversations. Getting lost in the woods and being killed by Flora. My missing Agency ID. Mrs. Pearce being unaware of Josh's murder. Makaya not identifying us as agents after the checkup. This was what she wanted.

Makaya had forced Jane-Anne to kill.

At the Gate

It was a quiet night, with nothing but the sound of crickets to compliment the starry sky. Then, something sharply broke into the stillness, clear and determined: the sound of heels clacking against pavement. They solemnly echoed into the emptiness as Makaya Gladwell glided down the sidewalk.

Makaya stopped before the towering black gate, patiently waiting for it to swing open. Sure enough, it did, and Makaya stepped through without a second thought. She turned to the security booth, where her innocent replacement was waving at her enthusiastically.

"I didn't expect to see you here!" said the woman cheerfully.

Makaya smiled sweetly. "I've spent plenty of nights out here alone. I know how it feels. I thought you could use some company." Makaya walked to the booth and set a plate of fritters on its desk.

"What happened to you?" the security woman asked, looking at Makaya's cheek. It had been slashed, and one of the cuts was still oozing blood.

Makaya touched her cheek gingerly. "Fox attack." she answered mindlessly. Makaya had gone out of her way to make sure that Setsuka wouldn't be in the picture tonight. She had put up a fight, but in the end, Makaya was smarter, stronger, and older. Setsuka had nothing on Makaya. After all, Makaya had taught her everything she knew.

"I didn't think there were any foxes around here," said the woman.

"You'd be surprised, Jingfei." Makaya answered.

"I suppose you'd know more than me," said Jingfei. Even though she had taken Makaya's position, she still respected her greatly.

"Maybe." said Makaya mischievously. "So, how do you plan on passing the time?"

Jingfei looked up at the stars, their light reflecting in her dark eyes. "I'm not sure. The sky is beautiful, though."

Makaya glanced up, but only for a moment. "I suppose." she shrugged. "It's a good night for stories, don't you think? I actually have the perfect one."

"Well, I'd love to hear it." said Jingfei, smiling politely.

"This one started about a year ago. It starts with a Forbidden meeting, back when only true Forbidden were allowed. The mixed kids who never fully belonged in either world had to stay home. One of those kids was named Hayate. Have you heard of him?"

"The name sounds familiar," said Jingfei.

"Well, because Hayate was mixed, there was a chance that he had some Forbidden traits. And since the only babysitters available during meetings were human, Hayate had to stay home by himself. When his mother left for a meeting, he was free to run around his house without any restrictions. He could run or climb wherever his little heart desired. They should have replaced those railings years ago. Fuyuko Kazama returned home from that meeting and discovered that she wasn't a mother anymore."

"That's awful!" Jingfei exclaimed.

"Losing a child can destroy you. It can twist your soul and morals in a way that will never be undone. Fuyuko's soul twisted that day, and she went to Mrs. Pearce's house, ready to kill the woman who insisted on implementing those dumb rules." Makaya took a deep breath. "Mrs. Pearce wasn't home, but her daughter was. Jane-Anne Pearce died that day, but she came back as the creature that killed her - a yuki onna."

"Jane-Anne isn't a registered Forbidden." said Jingfei doubtfully.

"That's because Mrs. Pearce decided to do the unthinkable. She decided to keep her daughter's identity a secret from everyone, including Jane-Anne herself. She did that with the help of a djinn, an encantado, and a siren. The djinn made Jane-Anne forget, the encantado helped Jane-Anne break away from her old life, and the siren..."

Makaya pursed her lips. "The siren helped Jane-Anne heal. She knew how to enter the mind and manipulate it. She learned Jane-Anne's song, and how to get complete control of her without her knowing. That's when the plan formed."

Jingfei nervously reached for her phone.

"What are you doing, Fei? I didn't finish my story." said Makaya.

"You're admitting to manipulating an innocent girl," said Jingfei.

"And? Do you know how many people have manipulated Jane-Anne? You're better off asking who hasn't. Jane-Anne has been used by everyone she has ever met. There's no point in reporting that I did what everyone else has already done. Calm down. Have a fritter."

Jingfei glanced at the fritters, but didn't bother to reach for one. Instead, she crossed her arms, intent on listening to Makaya's confession.

"The siren visited a despicable organization called the Agency and directed them right here. Then, she used Jane-Anne as a yuki onna to kill whoever she saw fit. The siren needed to get the Forbidden scared, and ready to slip up at any moment. If enough of them slipped up, the Agency would get full permission to take the town. Just like the settlers took this place from the Atalka natives. Repetition is history's favorite game, isn't it?"

"You went to the Agency?" Jingfei asked, her voice shaking at the prospect of her worst fear coming to life.

"I did." Makaya confirmed. "It's fine. Just take a deep breath." Her words dripped with a musical perfume that forced Jingfei to obey.

"If all of this is true, and the killer was Mrs. Pearce's daughter, why didn't Mrs. Pearce do anything?" Jingfei asked, more calmly this time.

"Setsuka is a master of denial and deflection. She simultaneously pretended that her daughter was innocent while making sure that no one in the court caught on to what was happening. But, the yuki onna was only part of the siren's plan."

Makaya paused to grab a fritter. She first offered it to Jingfei, who refused. Makaya shrugged, taking a bite.

"The other half of the plan was more complicated, but a lot more fun. It all hinged on Lena Matthews becoming Forbidden. There were several steps. The first was a friendship with Carter Reynolds, accelerated when the siren lulled him into the water. The second was leading her to Atalka Trail with a wolf. All the siren needed was for Jerome Hawke to nudge her in the right direction, and off she went! I have to hand it to Lena, that girl doesn't seem to fear death."

Makaya paused to take another bite before continuing.

"Next, she needed Flora Delaney to kill Lena. Lena had the right predispositions for a dryad. She was already mixed, and there was a tree in her checkup. The siren tried telling Flora point blank that Lena was from the Agency, but Flora didn't believe it. So, the siren got proof in the form of an ID. After that, it took a little push from Jane-Anne, and  Flora did what was needed to be done. Of course, the siren made sure that Jane-Anne killed Flora as well. She was a loose end."

As Makaya spoke, Jingfei had no choice but to listen. Makaya's earlier words had placed a spell on her, and she couldn't fight it. Makaya seemed unbothered by Jingfei's restlessness.

"The siren let Lena do her detective thing, poking around for the yuki onna. She didn't expect her to find Fuyuko, but it doesn't matter now. You see, the siren helped the Agency obtain a recording of the most recent Forbidden meeting, and they're on their way now. The mission is done. The last moments of the siren's life are already written in the stars, unchangeable."

"How did you know what would happen at the Forbidden meeting?" Jingfei asked. "No one knew how that was going to unfold."

"Are you kidding?" Makaya asked. "I orchestrated the entire thing. All I had to do was tell Setsuka that I saw a wolf in Lena's checkup and she could present a werewolf to the court. I had pushed Lena and Jerome together a while ago, so I figured that everyone would find Aaliyah soon enough. Then, all I had to do was add a yuki onna and the most beautiful chaos ensued. It was more than enough evidence for the Agency. Rumor has it they're bringing every single man to this small town. No one is going to escape, not even us."

"Why would you want that?" Jingfei asked.

"I want it simply because I can," said Makaya. "We are cursed with power and powerlessness at the same time. If I could change that and exercise my own will in this world, then why shouldn't I?"

"Because exercising your will is going to hurt everyone. It will kill you." Jingfei answered.

"Exactly. But I get to die knowing that I have control over it. No other Forbidden gets to say the same." said Makaya.

"Is it really worth this entire town?" Jingfei asked.

"You don't know how I died. Having a say in my own mortality is worth it." Makaya hissed.

"Fine, Makaya." said Jingfei. "How did you die?"

At this, Makaya's face relaxed into a slow smile. "So chatty so suddenly. Why don't you try a fritter, Jingfei? It's a special recipe. I learned it from my time in Georgia." Her voice sang with a power that Jingfei couldn't fight.

Unable to resist the voice of a siren, Jingfei took a bite of a fritter and chewed slowly. She stared at Makaya in apprehension, wondering what would happen to her.

"Don't worry, Fei. They're not poison. Unless you consider peach a poison." She tapped her chin thoughtfully. "I almost forgot that the Jiangshi can be killed with peach wood. Ingesting the peach itself shouldn't be good for you."

At her words, Jingfei collapsed on the ground, unconscious.

"So dramatic." Makaya murmured. "Don't worry Honey, it won't kill you. I don't think. It's for the best. You were a loose end."

Makaya stepped over Jingfei's body and found the old radio she kept in the security booth. She smiled to see it still there, untouched. Makaya turned on the radio, already knowing the song that would play.

Blue skies, smiling at me...

A/N: I don't like switching POVs midchapter, but I couldn't resist having a nice villain monologue. I know that everyone noticed that something was off about Makaya, and you were correct!

QOTD: If you had the option to punch Mr. Matthews or Makaya in the face, who would you pick and why?