One Thousand & One Lies (Reapers of Beauty Book 1) Read online

  "Yang. Stand up," Master ordered. Yang scrambled to her feet, moving a little back and in front of her mother. "You may return to where Xia is standing."

  Yang gave him a confused look but nodded her head. "Thank you, Master."

  Her eyes met mine as she took the first steps towards me, but she paused in her movement. She must have seen the sadness in my eyes, a tear rolling down my cheek as I watched Master lift his sword.

  Before Yang could turn around, Master's sword had already finished the deed. Yang's mother’s headless body fell to the ground and blood pooled around her. Yang screamed, running to her mother's body as if she could possibly save her while the woman’s head rolled off toward the corner of the room.

  Master merely laughed, shaking his head as he looked at the blade; the blood from Yang’s mother dripped off the silver steel.

  "Mom...Mama? No...I did what you asked!" she screamed and glared at Master who shrugged.

  "You did, but that blow job was rather pathetic. And you interfered. This was your fault, Yang. No one else's."

  That must have hit a nerve. Yang trembled in anger as she knelt in her mother's blood. Her head slowly turned my way and there it was: Hate.

  She was blaming me for all of this. I unclenched my fists and relaxed my body, my instincts beginning to warn me that this wasn't going to end well, and I was now a target.

  Before I even realized, Yang was headed right towards me, my eyes growing wide before I turned around and ran towards the wall.

  With ease, I jumped off the ground, my feet touching the red walls as I used my built-up momentum to push off it and glide above Yang while she skidded to a stop.

  I landed with grace, my body only three steps from Master, who looked entertained by the sudden development.

  "Yang. Stop this," I said calmly.

  "She was your mom too! She took care of you!" Yang screamed and raced towards me. I allowed my right leg to step back, and I took a calm breath to heighten my senses and see her movements in a slowed pace.

  My powers were numerous, one of them being a type of magic that could predict an individual’s movement as well as foretell catastrophes. In this case, I could see Yang's future moves: left kick, right punch, stomach kick, neck grip, death.

  She wants to kill me. I'd watched and tried to stop her, yet I was the culprit instead of Master who held a sword with her mother's blood.

  Though my mind was trying to grasp the scary thought of death, my body went into defense mode, blocking her incoming moves and preventing her from catching me in a neck hold by dropping down to the floor and kicking my leg out to trip her.

  She fell backward onto her ass and I quickly recovered, moving to stand protectively in front of Master. He didn't need my protection, but I knew my move would please him immensely, and I need all the advantages I could get in this situation.

  "Enough!" Master shouted. Yang rose to her feet but froze in place. Her eyes were still locked onto mine, and I was doing my utmost best to remain still and fight the urge to tremble in fear.

  I'd been trained since the moment I could walk to fight and defend myself, but I'd never had to physically fight to the death, and the thought was bothering me more than it should. For a Reaper of Beauty child that is.

  Master walked to stand in the middle of where we were locked in a glare. He moved a step back, so we could still have a visible sight of one another.

  "A Reaper of Beauty should be able to tell a lie in an effortless manner," Master proclaimed as he lowered his sword.

  "Yang? Were you going to kill Xia?" he asked.

  She clenched her teeth and growled, the sound vibrating against her throat. "Yes!"

  My heart sank, not because of her words, but to realize she'd already lost this battle by telling the truth. She thought Master was playing around, something he did on occasion. This wasn't one of the times he'd play about the role of a Reaper.

  Master nodded his head and looked at me. "Xia. Would you have killed Yang?"

  I stood there and realized how important my answer was. I couldn't care about friendship or the pain my words would cause her. My life was yet again on the line, and I couldn't let Yang interfere with my lie streak. I can't let her take away my future as a Reaper of Beauty.

  I stood taller while I inhaled deeply. To lie, it wasn't merely the words used. Your whole body had to agree with the lie you were about to commit, and that alone took concentration and acceptance. You have to accept that the lie is nothing but the truth.

  "Yes, Master. I would have killed her." My voice was cold and my eyes that unconsciously filled with tears were filled with killer intent.

  Yang gawked at me, feeling the true power of my words and realizing she'd lost this test, her eyes trailing the teardrop that rolled down my cheek and dropped to the floor.

  My eyes widened, but I couldn't say a word, my throat closing off, so I wouldn't scream. Yang...

  Her green eyes looked confused, but they began to fill with tears as a flicker of pain and regret filled her facial features. She slowly looked down, her eyes noticing the sword that had gone through her chest and the sight of her beating heart at the end of Master's sword.

  My mind was trying to figure out how she was still standing, and I knew Master must have used some type of magic or skill to delay her death long enough for her to hear the last of his wise words.

  "To be a Reaper of Beauty, you must tell the lie with your very soul. Regardless of the emotions we show on the surface, if the lie is stronger than the truth, anyone will believe you."

  Yang stared at me, tears rolling down her now pale cheeks as blood began to pour from her nose and the sides of her mouth. Those big green eyes were dulling with every second and her little legs trembled, looking like she'd fall any second.

  My gaze was locked on the beating heart that slowed, the pulsing movement of the bloody organ coming to a stop.

  "You've failed, Yang. You can no longer be a Reaper," Master concluded. With a smooth movement, he removed his sword from Yang’s lifeless body which fell before me, her heart hitting my feet before rolling to my side.

  I stared at it for who knows how long, my mind going blank at what I should have done. Even with my eyes locked onto the motionless heart, I heard Master clap his hands.

  The sound of the doors opening caught my attention, but I remained where I stood. I heard Laya, another woman who helped raise me, speak after entering the room. "Master."

  "Laya. Get one of the other Reapers to help you remove these bodies. Call a maid in to clean this entire place. I'll be in my other room. Minsu and Minso, take Xia back to your room. I'll ensure a good meal is sent to all of you in acknowledgment of Xia's work."

  Listening to his words hurt, making me wonder if my friends thought I was the one responsible for the scene they'd just walked into. That I'd killed Yang and her mother.

  I heard approaching footsteps, and two warm hands slid into mine. I couldn't look up, my eyes glued to the bloody floor and Yang's body and heart. Could I have done something? Anything else that would have stopped her from being killed?

  The two slowly urged me to move away, and though my body moved at their command, my mind had already absorbed the gruesome image.

  We reached the door before Master called out, "Xia."

  I stopped, prompting the two sisters to stop as well. With immense difficulty, I finally responded. "Yes, Master." My voice was low with no emotion.

  "255. Congrats and continue on your path to becoming a Reaper of Beauty," Master praised. No words could describe the dread I felt, but the number meant everything to me. That number that continued to grow until I reached 1000 Lies. The number that determined my freedom in this world.

  "Thank you."

  That was all I could say. I was using the majority of my power not to break down, not to rewind what I'd just witnessed in my mind repeatedly.

  Minsu and Minso tugged me along as two other Reapers and a maid walked past us. My gaze was locked on my feet
, noticing the blood stains that were on my pale bare skin and white kimono outfit.

  I couldn't recall when we'd reached our bedroom on the other side of Master's palace which during the day, people assumed was a private shrine. It wasn't until the door closed behind us and Minso lifted my head to meet her pink eyes that I realized we'd arrived.

  "Let's clean you up," she said with a sad smile.

  Their third sister, Minju, was on the bed, and one look at me had her pausing mid page turn of the magazine she was reading.

  "Xia? What happened? Where's Yang?"

  Tears formed in my eyes and the sisters glared at Minju who flinched, realizing what she'd done. "Let's take a warm bath so you'll have the energy to eat something. We'll help you," Minsu encouraged.

  They tried to lead me to the bathroom, but I stood my ground. My head fell back down in shame.

  "...I...didn't...do it," I whispered.

  They were silent, as a whimper escaped me. "I didn't...I didn't..." I tried to continue, but sobs began to escape me, breaking my sentences and making it impossible for me to continue. I felt arms wrap around me--Minso, Minsu, and then Minju's arms as they gave me a group hug.

  "We know," they said in unison, which only prompted me to cry harder.

  "We saw, Xia," Minso revealed. "We know Master killed Yang and her mother."

  "Even if I wasn't present, I know you would never kill Yang on your own accord. We know the circumstance we're all in, even if it's not our choice. Don't cry," Minju reassured.

  All I could do was nod my head as they led me to the washroom to strip out of the blood-stained clothes; the stains of Yang's blood.

  My friends. They’d grown to understand that we might one day have to kill each other if Master willed it. It hurt to realize what position we were in, none of us having a choice in the matter, but all I could wish for us was to gain strength and the opportunity to prove our worthiness to Master.

  That was the only hope I had to reach 1000 Lies and become a real member of the Reapers, instead of a pawn in Master's games.

  255 Lies Down. 745 To Go.

  YOTAKO NATION, JAPAN - MONTH III, YEAR 2094 - 19 YEARS LATER

  "Xia! You better not be sleeping in there!"

  I sighed, rising from the luxurious king size bed which currently held our target. He was fast asleep thanks to the drug I'd hid inside my mouth.

  I had to stretch out from the odd positions he'd put me in. At least five positions and he'd only come once. How boring.

  Reapers of Beauty had to use their bodies to get what we wanted. I'd been lucky to have a good shape that fit into today's "standards."

  I stood at 6'1", my natural hair was silky black and long. I normally kept it in a bun, the easiest hairstyle for it to stay out of my way and anyone else's. The worst case scenario would be for someone to grab it during a fight.

  It didn't hold tons of value, but I preferred longer hair over shorter length. It was easier to help with any disguise I needed. Even though I could borrow a wig from the triplets and get away with it.

  Being Chinese and Japanese mixed left me with a perfect pale complexion with zero acne. Some would say I was lucky, skipping the stage of bad skin. Add my B cup perky breasts and wide hips, thanks to the triplets feeding me more than I should eat, and I was classed as the curvy Asian.

  It didn't bother me one bit, especially when I made more than enough to get American branded clothing and again, I had the triplets. The La Sisters always had my back for everything.

  My eyes were the most mesmerizing to the majority of my victims, their color normally shifting to different shades of red. Depending on my mood, they could change to other colors if I allowed it, but red was my main color, and I tried to ensure my magic stuck with that.

  Magic here was different. You weren’t gifted or born with it. Very rarely, anyway. Everyone was born with something called mana, an essence of energy that determined just how powerful you were.

  I didn't know much about my birth, but whoever my biological mother was had some strong mana. Not to mention Master's powers.

  Yes, my Master was also my father. I'd take his height over my mother’s who Master said was 5'4. She got pregnant and begged him to keep me.

  Normally, Master got rid of all pregnancies associated with him, seeing no need to have someone who carried his blood, but he stated he'd felt my power even in the womb. That was what saved me, and I'd proved to him that I was his best Reaper to date.

  I was glad that only the triplets and a few of the older Reapers of Beauty knew about us being related. It was hard enough to have to do the things he wanted me to do, but for some odd reason, we'd never gotten to the sex part. Maybe his fatherly instincts kicked in, thinking how fucked up it would be to screw his own child. I doubted that would have stopped him, but once in a while a lap dance and blow job was more than enough for him. Disgusting, but enough.

  In America and other parts of the country, they called it incest, but in these parts, no one could care less. Some cultures purposefully stayed with their families, so that their powers would be stronger and absolute. I’m glad I’m not a part of those.

  When I was younger, I'd never considered it as bad or wrong to please Master, but being a teenager with crazy hormones made me think differently, leaving me rather uncomfortable at the thought of doing anything sexually demanding for him, but I’d compromised if it meant living another day.

  Either way, as a Reaper I had to use anything in my power to be successful and sex was a pleasurable way of finishing the job.

  The men who always caused trouble for my Master were essentially like him. Women, greed, and the desire for money and power were all they cared about. Sucks that women are their perfect weakness.

  Some could say Reapers of Beauty were prostitutes, but there was a difference between standing on the street to please a man versus stalking your prime target and using your body to get exactly what you wanted from them.

  We didn't always have to, but it was an option no Reaper would be foolish enough to pass up if it meant not failing and thus, not dying by the hands of our Master.

  In the end, we lived in luxury and Master paid us so well that when the time came to "retire," I could live in Bora Bora and still have money for years to come.

  I'd never seen a Reaper leave my Master while still alive, which was why "retiring" wasn't really an option.

  Imaginary dream? Yes. A reality we could hope for? Not quite.

  I'd heard the rumors about an incident. The Reaper I'd adored when I was a child fell in love with someone. She loved him and would give her life to be with him. She asked the Master's permission to retire, stating how she'd served him for years and killed thousands to give him the power, money, and love he craved. She wanted to be happy and begged to be free from his shackles.

  She was let free, as in he killed her in cold blood and made sure to find her love interest and then killed him as well. It was a planned trap of Master’s and she’d fallen for the bait.

  The man who had begged her to leave Master for him ended up making a deal to sell her in the black market as a sex slave. They both lost their lives, which I personally felt was better than my idol being forced into the sex trafficking system.

  At least as a Reaper we had the choice to sleep with a man on missions. We could use other methods of seduction or do the simple kill and run without any evidence left behind.

  As for Master, he at least used condoms. Most of the time.

  Either way, it was a heartbreaking story that still hit me hard. She'd been my role model, but because of a man who was using her for his own purposes, she'd lost her life.

  It also showed me that men were hard to understand and were one of the many reason I'd made sure I had a birth control implant. I couldn't afford to bring a child into this world. Not the dark, disgusting one I lived in. I couldn't let it be a Reaper if it was a girl, and if by chance it was a boy, I couldn't allow him to succumb to Master's influence. I would never allow a
child to become a monster like Master.

  "Xia? Do not tell me you are still butt naked. His group of junkies are coming to make the deal for the chip!"

  I sighed at Minso's voice, walked over to the leftovers of our room service, and bent down to retrieve a suitcase that was hidden within the rolling table.

  "I really wonder why I let you guys use that telekinesis shit when we have speakers." The three triplets sighed, which made me shiver at the amplified noise.

  "Are you wearing your earrings with your speaker in it?" Minsu asked.

  "No," I confessed.

  "Exactly," Minso commented.

  "I bet she still doesn’t have any clothes on." Minju sighed again.

  Rolling my eyes at their bickering, I opened the suitcase that had a brand-new lingerie set in it that I'd purchased yesterday just for this occasion. I slipped on the red lace back thong before I answered back.

  "I'm wearing underwear. That counts."

  I moved to grab my earrings that I'd placed on the nightstand, putting the one that had the integrated speaker back in so we wouldn't have to talk telepathically. It was draining on the triplets, and I didn't know if this was going to be a smooth exit plan.

  "There," I replied.

  "Thank the lord, because I was getting tired." Minju sighed. A small grin formed on my smooth pink lips, and I waltzed over to finish putting my bra and leg straps on that carried my knives and gun.

  "So, do I need to wear an outfit, or you guys got me?" I asked.

  "We got you if you hurry your perky ass up! His junkies are heading to the elevator. We can't stall," Minso snapped.

  "Hmm. Exit route?" I asked, my eyes scanning the room for an easy getaway. I closed the suitcase and placed it back where it had been hidden and began to tie my hair, ensuring the bun was tight and neat for the next step in our escape plan. If I could get out of this room.

  "Balcony is on watch. They're already on the third floor. Can't hide in the bathroom," Minsu explained.

  "Vent?" Minju suggested. We all laughed.