“Did she really just step through the barrier that held back the Darkness like it was nothing?” I asked, instantly concerned about our lack of defenses against the forces of Heaven.
“Yes,” Gwen said. A touch of annoyance colored her voice. “The barrier is not intended to keep their kind out, but I still hadn’t expected it to be bypassed so easily.”
“It wasn’t easy,” Gabriella said. She took me by the hand. Her warmth traveled up my arm, flooding into my brain and making it so I could barely focus on anything but the feel of her. “Now, let us look for the Armaments.”
“Okay,” I mumbled, glad I could still form words. “Where do we start?”
“I’m not sure, but maybe…” Gabriella released me. The sudden lack of her touch made me feel cold and empty inside. She tapped her temple with her hand. “Maybe the Book of the Builder will help?” She snapped her fingers and a leather bound tome the size of an encyclopedia appeared in a flash of golden light. It hovered between us. The cover was all white leather, and the gilded script on the cover was in a language I couldn’t read.
Except that I could. The moment the book appeared, Clarent began to glow with sapphire light. I instinctively reached down and gripped the sword’s hilt. As I did, the words revealed their meaning to me.
The Once and Future Builder.
2
“What? You mean you like it better when I don’t wear clothes? Oh, no problem. Tee hee. If it will help you concentrate, I can oblige,” Gwen said in a voice that was like a dumb version of the angel’s voice as she paced a hole in the floor behind me. “That dumb bitch acts like she has never seen a man before.” She shook her head and leaned over my shoulder for the fifteenth time as I tried to read through the book.
It was hard enough to read on its own because unless I fully concentrated on the words on the page, they turned to gobbledygook. Gwen’s constant griping about the angel wasn’t helping, and in the last ten minutes, I’d read the same paragraph six times.
“She didn’t say anything like that,” I said, looking up from the book in annoyance as I turned to glare at the succubus. “And I don’t see why you care, anyway. It’s not like you want to sleep with me.”
“Is that what you think?” she huffed, and the way her eyes darkened made me realize I’d just walked into an argument that was a long time coming.
“Yes, it is.” I turned toward her and crossed my arms over my chest. “I thought maybe there was something between us, some kind of chemistry, but ever since you got back, you’ve been distant.”
“I’ve been distant?” She arched a perfectly manicured eyebrow at me and leaned forward, so her breasts pushed at her leather top. “I’m surprised you’ve been able to keep your pants on long enough to notice me.” Her face twisted into a sneer. “And before you get the wrong idea, no, I don’t care who you sleep with, but at the same time…”
“At the same time, what?” I asked, getting to my feet and moving toward her. Only she didn’t meet my eyes. Instead, she turned away from me and looked at the far wall. “Gwen?”
“At the same time, I thought maybe we had something, thought there was a spark between us.” She turned back toward me. “I’ve been around you constantly, and you barely look at me anymore.” She touched her chest with one hand, trailing one hand between her breasts. “I mean, I get it. You have the other girls actually lining up to keep your bed warm, but I’d thought I was different. So I waited, hoping you’d come to my bed, but you never did. That wouldn’t even bother me, but it doesn’t seem to even bother you slightly.” She swallowed hard. “That’s what hurts, Arthur. I was stupid and thought maybe I was special enough to warrant your attention, but I’m not, and that’s hard for me okay?”
“Gwen, you are special,” I said, crossing the distance between us. “I owe you everything, but I thought you were mad at me, and I didn’t want to push.” I took a deep breath as I met her eyes. I wasn’t good at this really, and maybe she was right, maybe I’d leaned more toward the other girls because it was easier, but well, honestly, when it came to Gwen, I didn’t want to mess things up. Not when I owed her so much.
“I know I’m special, Arthur,” she said, narrowing her eyes at me. “This isn’t an issue of my self-esteem. Not really.” She shook her head, causing her raven locks to crash around her bare shoulders like a wave. “The issue is that you didn’t want me enough to even try.” She met my eyes, and now they were angry. “Even when I flirted with you, when I tried to make it obvious I wanted to be with you, there was no trying on your part.”
“Gwen, I—”
She waved her hand, dismissing me. “I get that you’re dumb, Arthur. You don’t see how the other girls look at you. Don’t see that they want you in a primal, visceral way. You’re their protector, the one who beat back the Darkness, and while they are skilled and well-trained, most of them have nowhere else to go. I mean, think about Sally. She’s blacklisted. Without you, she’ll go back to being penniless and spit upon. Most of the others are like that, even Sam. She’s disgraced, Arthur. What happens to her?” Gwen took a deep breath. “They want you to like them, to keep them around. They’re worried what will happen if you decide to leave. I’d be worried too if I wasn’t tied to your blade.”
“Wait, are you saying they don’t want to sleep with me? That they’re doing it out of obligation or something?” I asked, suddenly feeling shame rise up in my gut. That hadn’t been what I’d thought at all, but if it was, what kind of person did that make me? Not one I’d want to be, that was for sure.
“That’s not what I meant, you idiot.” Gwen harrumphed. “They like you, or they wouldn’t fuck you. They’re strong women who can make those decisions, but that doesn’t mean they haven’t talked about what happens when you’re gone. You need to think about that, think about the fact that for some of them, they think like I do.”
“Like how you do?” I asked, trying to understand what she was telling me, but it was hard because, honestly, I was dumb when it came to women. The experiences I’d had thus far had been so far out of my purview that I had no idea what to do and had been winging it. Clearly, that had been a mistake. One I intended to rectify.
“Some of them want to sleep with you but want you to choose them. To go to them. It’s your fault for letting that one out of the bag, but unfortunately, that cat can’t be put back in now.” She shook her head. “Those girls will start to doubt their worth if you don’t do something to make them feel special and wanted.” She sighed. “Not everyone is going to be like Maribelle who will lead you by the nose into her bed. In fact, most won’t.”
“What do you want me to do, Gwen?” I said, suddenly concerned I’d been acting like an idiot this entire time. If girls were doubting themselves because they expected me to make advances I hadn’t, well, we were going to be in trouble. Still, I owed it to them to try to make them feel special, even if that didn’t involve sex.
“I want you to pay attention, Arthur,” she said, meeting my eyes. “Everyone here is special. You’d do well to remind them of that because sometimes it’s easy to forget.” She crossed her arms over her chest in a way that seemed to practically push her breasts out of her tight-fitting top.
“I think I get it,” I said, nodding to her. The thing was, I did. I’d been so wrapped up in everything, the building of the town, the training of our people, the fight against the Darkness, that I’d forgotten that our town was made up of individuals with wants and needs. That was something I had to do better about.
“Thanks, Gwen.” I took a deep breath. “I miss these kinds of talks. You’re really much better at leading things than me. I’m just the dope with the sword.” I glanced out the window toward the town where I could see people rushing back and forth. “So, thank you.”
“You’re welcome, Arthur.” She smiled, licking her lips. “So, now that we’ve had our talk, would you rather do something else?” She dragged her teeth across her bottom lip. “My offer from before might still be on t
he table.”
I looked at her for a long time. “Do you really think that’s the best use of our time?” I meant it as a serious question because, I’d definitely go for it if it was, but at the same time, the book was calling to me, and we had a million things to do. Damn, this was exactly what she’d been talking about.
“Probably not,” she said, sidling toward me until we were so close together I could feel the heat coming off her body. “But I do want to spend time with you, Arthur. I’m worried if we don’t do something now, we won’t be able to later. There will always be another battle, another problem. Right now, though? Right now there isn’t any of that.” She tapped my chest with her long nails before trailing them down my body. “Don’t you want to spend time with me?” She leaned in as she spoke, so her breath brushed against my neck with each word.
“Yes, but I also don’t want to sleep with you right now because you’re worried I’ll forget,” I said, forcing myself to focus on ignoring her charms. It was hard because with every touch, every movement, I wanted to grab her and throw her down on my bed. I wanted to take her in the way a man takes a woman, and right now I didn’t have time for that. She knew that, so it was crazy that she was trying to seduce me now. Especially since we’d had the chance to seal the deal multiple times, and she’d kept stringing me along.
“I’m not worried,” she lied, her tongue flicking out to taste my stomach as she ran her fingertips into the hem of my pants.
“Look, Gwen,” I said, grabbing her wrist and pulling her hand away. It was hard because she was stronger than me, so if she’d have forced the issue, I wouldn’t have been able to stop her. “As much as I’d love to fool around with you right now. We both know it isn’t the best time. Tonight though? Tonight I will find you.” I took a breath trying to push back every male instinct inside myself and focus.
“What if I don’t want to wait?” she asked, and as she met my eyes, I felt the hunger inside her rising up like a monsoon that threatened to wash everything away. “What if I want you now?”
“Gwen, I want the opportunity to spend real time with you. I want our first time to be special. Not rushed like this.” I took a step toward her. “I want it to be long and memorable and not likely to be interrupted by someone who needs approval to use more wood for tables.”
“That is an interesting point,” she said, licked her lips. “But it doesn’t get me laid.” She nodded then. “I suppose you are right though. There is always tonight.” She looked past me at the book. “Find anything yet?”
“There’s nothing about the Armaments.” I ran a hand through my hair. “I think maybe we need to ask Gabriella about them.”
“I don’t really trust her. There’s something off about her, something she’s not telling us. The amount of trust you place in her is disconcerting, to say the least,” Gwen said, taking a step back and fixing me with a glare that normally would have made me run for cover. As it was, I had to resist the urge to go for my sword. It likely wouldn’t have done any good anyway because the demoness was stronger, faster, and better at fighting than me.
“I don’t know how to respond to that.” I shook my head. “She’s the only one who has given us a solid plan to stop Dred and the Darkness. We could use her help, and you know that.” I looked at her for a long time. “Is that why she isn’t here? Because you don’t trust her?”
“No. If I didn’t trust her, I wouldn’t have sent her out with Crystal,” she said, frowning at me. “I just wanted to spend time with you. We haven’t done that in a while.” She licked her lips, slowly dragging her tongue across them. “And, you know, if something else happened…”
“I’m getting that,” I said, smiling that. “Still, I’m surprised you left her with Crystal instead of showing her around yourself. I mean, come on Gwen. She’s an archangel, and she’s just wandering around your town. You’re normally a lot more protective about things like that.”
“Crystal is in charge of the farms,” Gwen replied, turning her nose up at me. “I figured the angel would love to spend time there given she makes flowers sprout from the ground when she walks. Maybe she could grow some food, help with all the mouths we have to feed.” She nodded to herself before taking my hands in hers. “It made the most sense to send her with Crystal while I helped you with the book.”
“I don’t think you can help with the book. I just need to spend some time with it,” I said, pulling my hand away and pointing at it. “That shit is dense as a motherfucker, and I say that as someone who has read computer programming textbooks.”
“That’s why I’m here. To help you with things you may not understand.” She stared at me for a long moment. “But if you want me to go, I can.” She looked at her feet then. “If it’s what you want.”
“Jesus, Gwen. What’s really going on? You’ve been moody ever since Gabriella got here, and I find it hard to believe it’s because she’s pretty. Hell, even the fact that she’s an angel doesn’t really seem to bother you. So spill, what is it?” I put my hands on my hips and stared at her as she fidgeted. “I mean, come on, I’ve given you nearly everything you asked for. I’m really trying here.”
“Arthur, remember when I said the girls are worried about what will happen when you leave?” I nodded, and she continued, “Well, I’m worried she’s going to take you away from me, from us. After all, now that you’ve taken ownership of Clarent, it’s not like you need me to use it anymore. You’re bonded to it now.” Gwen stared at her feet like they were the most interesting thing in the world. “If you decide to follow her to Heaven, who will protect us from the Darkness?” She looked up at me then. “I recognize she’s prettier than me, and I don’t have a lot to offer with our town, but I can’t let you leave us. I just can’t.” She bit her lip as she looked at me, worry filling her features.
“Gwen, Jesus…” I took a deep breath as I moved closer to her. “I wouldn’t do that. Trust me. I aim to beat the Darkness, to drive it back from Hell and Heaven.” I took her hands in mine. “I would never leave you, the town, or anyone else.” She nodded weakly, leaning her head against my chest. “You, of all people, should know that.”
“I think you believe that, but things change.” As she spoke into my chest, I wrapped my arm around her, pulling her close.
“This one won’t, Gwen. I will do whatever I need to do to keep you and the town safe.” I smiled at her as she looked up at me.
“Promise?” she said, and the hope in that word broke something within me, made me want to promise the world, to protect her from everything.
“Yes,” I said before I bent down and kissed her. The moment our lips met, pleasure exploded through me, wiping every other thought from my mind. She pulled me close, hands digging into my back as our lips mashed together with a fervor I hadn’t expected. Then she pulled away.
“Then I better let you get back to work,” she said, reaching down and cupping little me with one hand. “Work hard, okay?”
“Wait, what?” I said as she released me and I watched her spin on her heel and head toward the door without another word. I sighed, watching her go. Almost everything in me made me want to go after her, but I had a duty, so I didn’t do that.
Instead, I turned back to the book on the table and stared at it. The words had resolved back into mush, and as I reached down to grip Clarent, they resolved themselves back into the title. The Once and Future Builder.
I still wasn’t sure what it was about because nothing inside made a lot of sense. It mostly seemed to be collected notes from someone who hadn’t linked anything together. Still, I was determined to figure it out. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be able to save everyone, and that was one promise I truly aimed to keep.
Sitting back down in front of the book, I opened the cover and began paging through it. The gilded, handwritten script danced before my eyes before forming back into pages. I moved past it and found that after about ten or so pages the rest of the book was blank. After twenty pages, I couldn’t even turn
the page anymore. I wasn’t sure why that was, and while curious, wasn’t terribly helpful.
I flipped back to the front and began to read through it again. There was nothing listed about the Armaments, but the book kept referring to the seven princesses. Only it made no mention of who or what they were. I’d meant to ask Gwen about it, but what with all her interrupting, I’d forgotten.
The rest of the book was just snippets of lore that hinted at techniques or battle in the past, but none of it was particularly useful. That left me with nothing except the princesses.
“I guess that’s the best place to start,” I said, wishing Gwen hadn’t left because now I needed to go find her. Getting to my feet so I could do just that, I tucked the book under one arm and made my way outside. Only she wasn’t there, and what’s more, I didn’t see her anywhere. I did, however, see Gabriella marching straight toward me with a determined look on her face.
3
As Gabriella saw me, she raised one hand and waved at me like an excited cheerleader. “Arthur, over here!” she cried, waving like she wasn’t twenty feet away.
“What’s up?” I asked as she glanced overhead conspiratorially.
“I have a plan,” Gabriella said, nodding fervently. “I know how we can get the Armaments.”
“Oh?” I said, smiling as a huge weight seemed to lift from my shoulders. “That’s great because this thing has exactly no information on the subject.” I hefted the book. “It just keeps talking about princesses, but it doesn’t mention who they are or where they are or really anything. Do you know anything about them?”
“No…” Gabriella said, her smile faltering as she looked at the book wide-eyed. “I’m sorry, I’m not really good with things like that. Michelle says I’m more of a doer.” She nodded several times. “And she’s our leader, so she’d know.”
“Ah, okay,” I said, nodding back. “It’s no problem, I was just trying to find Gwen to ask her, but I haven’t seen her. Did you, perhaps?”
The Builder's Greed (The Legendary Builder Book 2) Page 2