Chapter Eighteen: Words I Never Said:

They screamed to her. Bloody hands grabbed at her skinny body. She couldn't understand it.

"What do you want?" she cried.

"Save us!" they cry over and over. "Save us! Save us! Save us!" Terror seized her spine.

"Who are you?" she cried.

"Save us! Save us! Save us!" they kept crying out.

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Meixiang awoke panting and sweating. Her heart took a while to calm down. She felt her head swim as she tried to piece her thoughts together. The siren looked around her guest room. The silence in the pitch black filled her eyes as Meixiang gripped the sheets of her futon. She knew what she had to do.

The siren rose out of bed and gathered up her knives. That man must pay! He killed my family! Blood invaded her eyes. Their voices screamed louder in her head. "I will avenge you," Meixiang muttered to herself. She walked out of the room and closed the door behind her.

The siren took slow, quiet steps down the hall. She paused at Anna's door and looked through the crack. Her host still slept in her futon. Meixiang bowed her head at her. Thank you, Anna. Thank you for all you have done. The pale siren turned and left. Each step over the other girls made her stomach turn. He must pay for my family's deaths.

The sun hadn't risen for the morning. Meixiang didn't pause to take in her surroundings. Blood took over her mind as their cries grew louder and louder.

"Save us! Save us! Save us!" they screamed. Her hand tightened around the knife's handle. I will! I will save you! She made her way out of the neighborhood.

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At Kimoto Manor, Anna awoke to the sound of Kobe barking.

"Okay, okay," she mumbled "I'm coming! I'm coming!" The woman climbed out of her futon half-asleep and let her dog out to pee. She didn't notice that Meixiang was gone.

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The siren made it to the local park. The angry fire began to slow her down. She sat on the ground and gave herself to tears.

"Fan, my love," she whimpered. "Li, Han, Niu, and Guozui too! All my family and friends! I have nothing now!" The flame called rage fired up higher. She grabbed onto her skinny arms.

He killed my family! He killed my family! He killed my family! Meixiang slowly rose to her feet. Suddenly, her ears caught a man's voice. Her eyes scanned her dimly lit surroundings. They spotted a lone man on a bench. He was talking on a cell phone. Meixiang studied him for a long time. A sudden realization rushed over her.

It's him! Her grip tightened on her knife. He looked unarmed, but she didn't charge. No, he would want that. She turned invisible and waited. Nobu answered his phone earlier.

"Hello? Hey mama. Yeah, she's still in Tokyo. I had a little run-in with some siren. Yes, sirens. Don't worry, I already took them out." He paused and drew out a heavy sigh. "Unfortunately, one of them got away. She was possessing Anna's body for ransom or something. I don't know." He listened on for a couple of minutes.

"Hard to determine for sure, but Junzo did sense a strong power from Anna. No, it wasn't the siren either. I asked him what it meant." Nobu paused before speaking. "He says yes. Anna definitely has the mother kitsune locked inside of her. What now?"

Meixiang's eyes widened in panic as she silently gasped. Anna has� Oh shit! I have to go warn her! However, something caught her eye. Nobu stared dead-on at her. He still had the phone to his ear.

"I have to go Mama," he said. "I just found a bug on the cell phone tower." Nobu hung up the phone and rose to his feet. Meixiang panicked as she turned and flew as fast as she could. Nobu smiled and shook his head.

The poor soul, he thought. She just won't learn.

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Seven a.m. at Kimoto Manor.

The girls were all up for the day. Anna looked around the house. She found everyone in the dining room, eating breakfast. Lucy looked up and saw Anna in the doorway.

"Hey, Barbie," she called. "Come eat with us!" The other woman did a head count among the women at the table.

"Has anyone seen Meixiang?" she asked.

"We thought she was still in bed," Hotaru replied.

"Hm�" Anna said.

"Why, what's wrong?" Stella asked.

"I can't find her," the kitsune tsukai responded. She headed out the front door. The other girls looked on at her. Anna had just stepped out onto her lawn when she happened to look up and see Meixiang flying towards her.

"Meixiang?" she asked, tilting her head.

"Anna!" the siren screamed. "Anna! There's something I have to tell you!" Anna raised an eyebrow at her.

"What do you mean?" she asked. The siren flew into Anna's body for safety.

"What's going on? Where have you been?" she asked. Stab! Anna's eyes widened in shock. Nobu stood right in front of her with a knife plunged deep into her chest. Her uncle had no emotion on his face.

"That's the last one," he said. His eyes trailed back to Anna's own. "So sorry for the unnecessary violence, but, she knew too much." The old man yanked out the knife and put it back in his coat. Anna sank to her knees. Her uncle turned to leave.

"I'll be back for you later," he said over his shoulder. Nobu got into his car and drove off. Anna sat on knees as Meixiang's dead body lay before her in a pool of blood.