The Builder's Pride (The Legendary Builder Book 3)

by J. A. Cipriano

  “Do you really not know what the Darkness is?” I asked, raising an eyebrow at the goblin as she slowly approached the corner and waved her hand through it.

  “The absence of light,” Leviathan said, turning to regard me. “You think me a fool?”

  “No, not actual darkness.” I sighed. “The Darkness.”

  “You’re not making any sense,” Leviathan replied, wings folding up into her back as she approached. “Why won’t you tell me so I can understand? Just give me what I want!” Her hands clenched into fists. “Why do you deny me?”

  “I’m trying, I just…” I stopped, watching the goblin. “What would you trade in exchange for the information?”

  “Trade?” she asked, watching me closely. “You wish to trade with me? Do you even know me?” She smacked her chest with one hand causing her golden chainmail to jingle. “I am the Archangel of Envy!”

  “Right, and you’re supposed to safeguard us against the sin of wanting someone else's possessions, qualities, or luck.” I nodded toward her. “How are you doing with that?”

  “I have not been the person you speak of in a very long time.” She shook her head. “I can hardly remember a time before I was here with my hoard.” She looked around. “If I were to leave, that tricky dwarf would take it all, and I’d never get it back.”

  “Let’s assume that’s true,” I said, taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly. “Let’s assume the dwarf does come and take all your gold.”

  “She will! I’ve known her for eons. She wants nothing more than to take what is mine!” The goblin nodded furiously. “I see it in her eyes when she comes to tea.”

  “Right, okay. Part of me wants to inquire about the whole tea thing, but I’ll wait until later, okay?” When Leviathan nodded, I continued, “Think about all your gold, gems, whatever it is.”

  “Okay?” she asked, walking over to me. “I am picturing all my pretties.”

  “Do they make you happy?” I asked.

  “Yes!” she cried, dancing. “I love knowing I have so much stuff because if something happens, I’ll be set. World ends, got my stash.” She nodded again. “Only problem is protecting it. Can’t trust anyone…” she trailed off into muttering.

  “And wouldn’t you be happier if you, um, didn’t have to protect it?” I smiled. “Wouldn’t it be nice to leave this tomb because that’s what it is, a tomb.”

  “It is not a tomb.” She crossed her arms over her chest, but her tone was a touch uncertain. “I still live.”

  “Do you really? What was the last thing you did?” I asked.

  “I found you! Before that, I counted my coins, and before that, I counted the rubies.” She looked suddenly horrified. “I probably should count the rubies again. What if one disappeared?”

  “How could it possibly disappear? You’re a giant fucking dragon, and you’re clearly so strong you’ve kept out the Archangel of Wrath and her army of dwarves,” I cried, suddenly exasperated. “You’ll be fine until the Darkness comes to eat everyone.”

  “There you go with that Darkness thing again.” The Archangel Envy stared at me for a moment. “I will agree to your trade. Tell me how to stop this Darkness from taking what’s mine, and I will grant you what you wish.” She took a deep breath. “But only if you agree to return it when you’re done. I can lend but not give.”

  “That sounds reasonable. When the Darkness is defeated, and I’m dead, you can have whatever you want back.” I nodded to her. “Do you agree?”

  “I agree, but you must swear a blood oath on it.” She held her hand out. “Do you swear to that?”

  “Yeah, sure,” I said, trying to give her my hand. “You’re going to need to unbind me for that.”

  “Oh, right, sorry!” the goblin nodded, looking down at my hands where they were tied to the chair. “Just one hand though. I don’t want you tricking me.”

  “Fine!” I growled. “Do the left one. I’m right-handed, and I need to be able to use my sword.”

  “Your sword?” she asked, slashing open the bindings along my left arm with her claws. The moment they fell free caused my entire arm to tingle. “What sword?” She glanced around. “You don’t have a sword.”

  “I just meant in general. Not a specific sword. I’m right-handed.” I shook my head. “Let’s get on with this. What do we do?”

  “I will cut your hand, drawing blood. I will then cut my own hand, and we will shake. The bargain will be sealed in blood so if you don’t follow through lots of bad things will happen.” She cut her hand, causing blood to well up in her palm. “Would you like me to list them?”

  “No.” I didn’t either. If I heard what they were, I might not do it, and I had to do it. After all, what choice did I have with this batty goblin? “Go ahead and cut me.”

  “As you wish.” She drew one talon across my palm, splitting the flesh like a ripe peach. It hurt so much I nearly screamed, but I bit my lip and focused on a happier time. Like when I’d been trapped for a year fighting wind monsters. “Ready?”

  “Yeah,” I said, holding my hand out, and as she took it, the entire room seemed to shake. Green electricity exploded from our handshakes and rippled across my flesh, and as it did, I realized this might be a bit more than I’d first expected.

  “There, the bond is complete!” Leviathan nodded. “Now, tell me what you want so we can come to the terms of our agreement.”

  “I feel like this is happening backwards, but okay.” I took a deep breath. “First, I want you to untie my friend and me. Then give us the stuff back you no doubt took.”

  “I didn’t take anything. You just left me gifts.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “But fine. You can have them back, Indian giver.”

  “Next, I want you to provide me with your Armament so I can stop the Darkness.” As I spoke, she gave me a confused look.

  “I really don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said, shaking her head. “Please just tell me because I can’t bargain like this. You keep speaking of things I’m not familiar with.”

  “Okay, look,” I took a deep breath in an effort not to lose it and start screaming. “There’s a picture of the armament in my book. I’ll show you. Give it to me, and when I die, you can have it back. Okay?”

  “Okay…” she said, reaching down the front of her chainmail and pulling out my book. “What page is it on?” she began thumbing open the book. “This is all blank. Are you lying to me?”

  “No.” I held out my hand, and as I did, I realized I wasn’t bleeding anymore. In fact, instead of any sort of wound at all, I now bore a scar on my palm in the shape of an ouroboros, the serpent eating its own tail.

  “No?” she gestured at me with the book. “Why is it blank?” She stamped her foot. “Why is this all so difficult?”

  “You’re the difficult one!” I snapped back before I could stop myself and immediately wished I hadn’t because I was still tied to the chair and she could turn into a Godzilla-sized serpent. “Just give me the book, and I’ll show you. Only I can make it work.”

  “You’ve enchanted it?” she asked, handing me the book. “You must show me how you did that.” She tapped her cheek. “Another bargain for another time.”

  I ignored her as she continued to ramble on as I flipped through the book. It was a lot more difficult than need be because I wasn’t left-handed. Still, I finally found the page with Envy pictured upon it. Only as I scanned the text, everything became clear.

  “You have amnesia?” I asked, turning to look at her?

  “I don’t know what that is, but I probably do. I have everything.” She looked at the book. “Unless it’s something I don’t have, in which case I want it!”

  “Right,” I said, turning my eyes back to the page and reading through the bullet points beneath her picture.

  Leviathan– Archangel of Envy.

  Tasked with keeping the sins of Envy at bay.

  Fell during Lucifer’s rebellion against the high court

  Stru
ck her head on the ground below and was badly damaged in the fall

  Side effects include long-term memory loss, amnesia, and psychosis

  “Anyway, this says you have long-term memory loss and amnesia, which is why you don’t remember the Darkness.” I tapped the page. “If you let me, I can bring you to the edge of Hell and show you the Darkness.”

  “Why would I want to do that?” she asked, peering closely at me.

  “Let me ask you a different question,” I said, suddenly feeling bad for her. “As an aside.”

  “It doesn’t hurt to ask, but I may not answer.” She stared at the book before pointing to the other page where her armament was listed. “What’s that?”

  “The Armament,” I said, waving my hand. “But let’s just table that too for a second. I still want to ask you something.”

  “No. I want to know why you have a picture of my belt,” she said, lifting up her chainmail to reveal a six pack of abs and a pair of golden trousers cinched together with the belt that was pictured on the page. “See. It’s the same.”

  Now, I couldn’t actually be sure if that was true because I couldn’t see the tooltip for it, but unlike with Sathanus’s pants, this belt did look like it would fit me. It was also much too big for the goblin woman who looked like she’d wrapped the chain around her waist twice and then knotted it instead of using the buckle.

  I glanced back down at the page and nearly had a heart attack when I read the description.

  The Remorseless Chain of Envy

  Type: Belt

  Durability: 2,300

  Defense: 1D6

  Enchantments: Armament of Envy

  Ability: Spell Steal– Allows the user to temporarily mimic an ability from an opponent once the ability has been used in combat. Only one ability can be mimicked at a time.

  I took a moment to shove down my inner greedy pig because I realized I needed to get the belt from her and letting her know I wanted it wouldn’t work. The ability to steal an ability from an opponent was too powerful to pass up, and it might make the difference during the fight with Dred and the Darkness. Still, there might be another way. If what the book said was true, maybe I could heal her. Then dealing with her wouldn’t be so damned impossible.

  “It’s a neat belt,” I replied, looking back up at her and shrugging, “But anyway, I had a question for you.”

  “What’s your question?” she asked, dropping her chainmail down over the belt and looking at me.

  “What if I said I could fix you, or at least, I was pretty sure I could fix you?” I pointed to the book. “It says you hurt your head when you fell from Heaven.”

  “You could fix my head?” she gave me a confused look. “What’s wrong with it?” she tapped her skull, eyes starting to widen in panic. “You mean something I own is broken?”

  “Yes, well, sort of. I’m not sure, but I know someone who would be able to help. As I said, I’m the Builder, so even if she can’t help you right now, I’ll make sure I find a way to help you.” I watched her. “Will you let me help you?”

  “And what would you want in exchange?” she asked, rubbing her head with one hand. “To fix my head, so what’s mine isn’t broken anymore.”

  “I just want you to come and see my friend, Sally. Would that be okay?”

  “If I do that, Sathanus will come and steal all my things. I don’t know if I can risk it.” The archangel of Envy began to pace in front of me. “But if I stay, my things will stay broken, and that’s no good at all.”

  “What if I get Sathanus to agree to come too? That way you can watch her the whole time?” I offered.

  “What’s the catch?” Envy asked, moving closer to me and peering into my face. “There’s always a catch.”

  “There is a catch. You need to let me take a couple things to her as a show of good faith—”

  “I can’t let you take what’s mine, thief,” she cried.

  “How about you give it to me then, that way, when I die, you get them back?” I showed her my hand where she’d marked me. “How’s that sound?”

  “That seems fair,” she said, nodding once. “Go and speak with the dwarf. If what you say is true, and she agrees to the journey, I will accompany you as well.”

  17

  “The architecture is really amazing,” Annabeth said as we followed Leviathan through the winding halls of the palace. Truth be told, I wasn’t that impressed because while I was sure the pillars and whatnot were nice, there was so much stuff piled everywhere, I mostly just wanted to leave.

  As we passed by a literal wall of old magazines and kitten calendars, I found myself hoping there would be no wind to knock the thing over. The absolute last thing I wanted was to be buried alive in filth.

  “Thank you,” Leviathan replied, turning to look at the sculptor. “I especially like the high ceilings. Let’s me hold more things.” The goblin picked her way through the very narrow pathway through all the junk as we headed toward a room at the far end.

  “That’s an excellent point,” Annabeth said, and I glared at her.

  “Don’t encourage her,” I whispered. “She could turn into a giant serpent and eat us if she thinks you’re coveting her stuff.”

  “I can appreciate things other people have without wanting them for myself, Arthur,” Annabeth said with a shrug. “Besides, what I think she really wants is to be valued and is using stuff as a surrogate for that.”

  “What are you two mumbling about?” the goblin asked, turning to look at the two of us. “Are you plotting something?”

  “We were just thinking how lovely your home is, and how nice it is for you to show us your collection. You’re really a very nice person, and I’m glad to have met you,” Annabeth said, smiling at the goblin. “Why, if you would let me, I’d like to carve you a gift sometime.”

  “You wish to give me a gift?” The goblin watched us. “For being nice?”

  “Yes,” Annabeth said, nodding. “I’d love to sculpt you something because I know you’d cherish it.”

  “I would cherish it. I cherish all my treasures.” Leviathan took a deep breath. “Perhaps we can talk about it after we have summoned Sathanus, although I’m not sure why you need a pair of pants to do it.” She raised one foot in the air. “They’re long, won’t fit me, so I don’t see what use they’d be to her. She’s not much taller than me.” The goblin glared at me then. “Unless she wants them because they are mine.” She pointed a finger at me accusingly. “Is that what this is about? Are you trying to help her steal my pants just because she knows I like them?”

  “No,” I said before she could wind herself up more. “I’m one hundred percent not trying to do that.”

  “Then explain yourself!” she crossed her arms over her chest.

  “As I said,” and before I could say more, Annabeth put a hand on my shoulder in an effort to calm me down. We’d had this conversation six times already, and I was really starting to get pissed off. “The pants have a special spell I can use to summon her. At least I think they do. If they don’t, I have no idea how to find her without crossing the Burning Desert, and call me crazy, but I absolutely don’t want to do that.”

  “Those birds aren’t very nice,” Annabeth agreed.

  “There are birds?” Leviathan asked, turning on her heel and making her way forward. “Will I get to see them? I can’t actually remember the last time I saw a real bird.”

  “I think you’ll get to see lots of things you’ll like when you come back with us,” Annabeth said, moving between the goblin and me. “You’ll make lots of memories you can keep forever.”

  “I like the sound of that.” She tapped her head. “I don’t remember too well.” She smiled and glanced back at us. “But you think you can fix me?”

  “I think there’s a good shot,” I said, trying to give her a reassuring smile. Truth be told, I wasn’t sure if she could be fixed. I had no way of knowing what was damaged in her head or anything of the sort. All I knew was that Sally was a
healer, and if I had Clarent, I could augment her abilities. Still, it might beyond the reach of even the best healers in Hell. Even with my abilities.

  The plan also relied on me reforging Clarent, and I’d been unable to even start on that. I had yet to actually succeed in getting the Stygian Iron for Sam. Still, I was about to have not one, but two Armaments. That was worth a few minor delays, assuming, of course, I lived through the day.

  “We’re here!” Leviathan said, stopping suddenly in front of a series of dressers stacked precariously one on top of the other. She dropped down to her knees and pulled open the bottom most drawer, causing the entire structure to sway dangerously.

  “Be careful,” Annabeth said, eyes going wide as she watched the stack of dressers. “That may not be safe.”

  “Of course, it’s safe,” Leviathan said, tugging on a pair of scarlet chainmail pants. Only they were caught on something in the drawer. “Just needs a little effort.” Her flesh began to glow with soft emerald light, and as it did, I felt my left palm heat up. I looked down at it just as she tugged the pants free.

  As she held up the pants to me with one hand, the tower of dressers fell. I instinctively cringed away, one hand going to my sword.

  My fingers wrapped around it as Leviathan flicked her wrist casually at the fallen dressers, suspending them in midair. They hovered there for a second as all the knickknacks and clothing that had fallen out of them went back into the drawers. Then the dressers settled back down in their tower.

  “So, how are these pants supposed to work?” The goblin held them out to me. “They don’t seem very special.”

  I reached out to take them, half expecting her to pull them away and freak the fuck out, but she didn’t. Instead, she let me take them. The moment I did, I realized the problem. These felt exactly like how The Unrelenting Grips of Greed had felt before I’d gotten Mammon’s blessing. There was no magic in them or anything. Still, I was determined to try to call Sathanus because option B, heading outside and finding her before coming back here would piss me the fuck off.