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

by J. A. Cipriano

  “How right you are.” A man stepped forth and flung the body of an angel to the ground in front of himself. She was missing a wing, and her body was one giant bruise. It looked like she’d once been wearing armor, but that it had been blown apart, leaving her mostly battered body naked to the open air. Her hair had been burned away, and she stared unseeing.

  The sight of her laying there, so clearly defeated made a chill run down my spine. I’d have never been able to do that to an archangel. They were just too powerful.

  “Michelle…” Lucifer narrowed her eyes at the white-haired man.

  As his burning yellow eye settled upon Lucifer, taking her in, he ran a hand through his close-cropped white hair. Then he smiled. “Lucifer.” His gravelly voice was full of amusement. “How I’ve longed to meet your acquaintance.” He gave the angel on the ground a contentious kick.

  “Destroyer.” Lucifer tightened her grip on her warhammer before pointing it at him. “You will pay for what you’ve done.”

  “Do you know why I have wished to meet your acquaintance, Lucifer?” His eyes dropped to the angel. “It is because I have heard you are the most high.” His gaze flicked back to Lucifer. “I hope that is true because this one has long ceased to be entertaining.”

  “You dare,” Lucifer cried, and before I could blink, the archangel launched herself at him. Her warhammer lashed outward in a blur I could barely follow, and as the ground around her exploded into flames so hot, the falling rain turned to steam, the man caught the head of the warhammer in his left hand.

  “Pathetic.” He squeezed, and the two marks I didn’t recognize on the head of the warhammer glowed like dying suns moments before the weapon shattered into a million shards of metal that flitted through the air like dying fireflies. He stepped forward then, and with almost an absent effort drove that same hand into her stomach. His fist burst through the archangel’s back in a spray of crimson gobbets.

  Lucifer’s mouth opened and closed like a dying fish, and I could feel her power draining away through my own mark. Worse, I could feel her body struggling to heal the wound and failing as corruption seeped into her.

  “Allow me to introduce myself, Lucifer. I am Dred.” He withdrew his hand from her stomach, causing the Devil to fall to her knees before him. “And it would seem the rumors of you are not true. You do kneel before the right man.” As she collapsed face first into the mud, he turned and knelt down beside the other downed angel. Then he gripped the necklace from around her neck and tore it free.

  “No!” I cried unable to believe what had happened. He had just defeated Lucifer and stolen what looked like an Armament from Michelle. Only, how was that possible?

  As he held out his left hand, causing golden light to flow out of Michelle and into him, Dred looked at me like he was seeing me for the first time. He cocked his head to the side. “You’re the new one, aren’t you?” A smile crept across his lips. “You know what’s better than five Heavenly Armaments?” He gestured at me with the necklace in his hand before slipping it over his head. “Six.” His lips twisted into a cruel smile as angels began to fall from the sky, their bloodied corpses smashing into the shores of hell like grotesque comets.

  “Six?” I asked, too stunned to do anything as he sauntered casually toward me.

  “Six,” he repeated when he’d crossed the distance between us. “And do you know what is better than six?”

  “Seven?” I asked, reaching for my sword. I wasn’t sure if I could stop him, but I had to try. If I didn’t, what kind of man did that make me?

  “Seven is better.” He took a step back and nodded to my sword. “Draw your weapon, and I will show you what is better than seven.”

  “And if I do not?” I asked, suddenly so scared, I could barely think. Dred had dropped Lucifer in a heartbeat, and if I was right, that was Michelle on the ground. How was I to compete with that? I didn’t have a magic weapon like him, and even if I did, what would it matter? He’d destroyed Lucifer’s hammer like it was a goddamned Styrofoam mallet.

  “Then you are a coward unworthy of the lesson I wish to show you.” He looked me up and down. “Are you a coward, Builder?”

  “No. I just don’t want to fight an unarmed man with a weapon. Makes me feel like a wimp.” I tried to sound confident, but from the way he looked at me, I could tell he knew I was terrified. That almost made it worse.

  “You are not worthy to face Excalibur.” He touched the sword in the scabbard at his thigh with one hand. “But if its sweet embrace is what you seek, I shall grant it.” He nodded. “Draw your weapon or don’t. It will not matter to me, Builder.”

  I drew Seure. The blade was slick in my sweaty hands, and as I held it, I felt like a little kid again. I tried so hard to push it down, to be the hero I was supposed to be, but as Dred watched me with his stupid yellow eye, I couldn’t help but feel inadequate. Still, that didn’t matter. I had to stop him.

  “Come on.” He gestured for me to attack him. “Attack.”

  I took a deep breath, calling upon my power. I felt it instantly. The ground around me turned to flame, and the sky screamed in pain as the powers of the archangels filled me.

  Greed. Wrath. Envy. Lust. Pride.

  And one more.

  Death.

  They filled me, and as they did, the world seemed to slow down until it was just Dred and me.

  “Wait.” Dred looked me up and down as sparks of color leapt from my skin. “This won’t do at all.” He shut his eyes. Instantly the armor covering his chest evaporated into mist, revealing his scarred, war-torn body. His flesh rippled with so much muscle it was like his muscles had muscles. “Now hit me.” He touched the place above his heart. “Here. Give it everything you have.”

  I wasn’t sure what he was playing at, nor what his game was, but I didn’t care. If he was stupid enough to give me a free shot, well, I was sure as hell going to take it.

  Grabbing hold of every last ounce of energy I could, I attacked, leaping forward and driving Seure into him. As the blade struck his skin, Seure overloaded and exploded into a billion glinting shards causing all the power I’d called to erupt outward in an explosion that threw me from my feet.

  I hit the ground hard and skidded across the mud as debris rained down around me. Only, as the smoke cleared, I saw Dred standing there. His chest had been torn open to reveal the shattered bone beneath. Blood poured from the wound as he reached down at touched his chest.

  “More than I could have ever hoped for,” he said even though he should have been dead. “And yet not nearly enough.”

  He took a step toward me as his flesh began to writhe. Before my eyes, his organs reformed and the shards of his skeleton pulled themselves back together. By his second step, his muscle had covered over the whole mess. By his third step, his skin flowed outward across his body like sculptor’s clay. By his fourth step, there was no trace I’d hurt him at all.

  “That was your one free shot.” He held his hand out to me. “Now it is time for your lesson, Builder.” When I didn’t move, he narrowed his eyes at me. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way. Know that insolence will cost you.”

  “Fuck you,” I said, and even though I didn’t have a weapon, I launched myself at him. My fist struck the underside of his chin, and as he stumbled, I drove my knee into his groin.

  He staggered, completely caught off guard as I moved to pull his sword from his sheath. Only as I touched it, agony unlike anything I ever felt hit me. My whole world exploded into a cacophony of pain unlike anything I’d ever felt before.

  “That was a mistake.” Dred grabbed me by the throat as I started to fall toward the earth. His face turned to a blur as he met my eyes. “You are not worthy of wielding Excalibur.” He threw me.

  I sailed back across the fields and slammed into the wooden walls surrounding the Graveyard of Shadows. The wood splintered under the impact, and I felt my bones break as I burst through the reinforced earthen layer and out the other side. I hit the grou
nd hard, toppling across it like a broken mannequin.

  As I lay there in so much pain I could barely remember how to breathe, Dred walked through the hole in the wall, causing the barrier protecting the town to spark. A thunder crack exploded through the air as every last sigil burst into flames, and for a moment it was silent save for the rain.

  “So, as I said before, Builder.” Dred grabbed me by the scruff of my shirt, and it was then I realized my ethereal armor had shattered under the force of the blow. “This is better than seven.”

  He flung me through the sculpture Annabeth had carved in the center of town. As I hit the ground in a rain of debris, I saw the archangels standing there. Sam, Mammon, Sathanus, Gwen, Leviathan, and Gabriella.

  “There is no feeling quite like defeating a champion before his people.” He gestured at them. “Look how they tremble. How they fear me.” He licked his lips. “It is delicious.”

  His words made me scream in rage. I was supposed to do better, be better for them. I was supposed to stop them, and instead? Instead, I would be responsible for breaking them.

  “Arthur!” Gwen cried, and as she moved to rush toward me, I put a hand out toward her.

  “Stop.”

  Truth be told, I couldn’t have told you how I did it. How I could speak let alone raise my arm. Everything in me hurt, and the craziest part of it was that thanks to my Armament of Wrath I knew Dred had taken seven times as much damage and had nothing to show for it.

  “You should do as the Builder says.” Dred looked over at me and nodded. “He is now wise.”

  “That’s Michelle’s necklace,” Gabriella said, her voice cracking midway. She gripped her golden mace tightly, and as she raised it defensively, I could see her shaking. Fear clouded her eyes, and the sight of it made me want to die inside.

  That was the fear of someone who knew she’d already lost and was going to throw her life away, anyway. Of someone who knew everything was pointless. It was different from the fear on the other’s faces. They were scared of him, but not in the way they should have been.

  “It is.” Dred nodded to the archangel as I got to my feet before turning his eyes to Sam. “Hello, Samael.” He smiled. “Did you miss me?”

  “No,” she said, scythe in hand. She was the only one not scared. No, in her, the fear had been replaced by unbridled fury. “Not for even a second, you son of a bitch.”

  “Hmm.” He rubbed his chin. “That’s surprising considering you always told me how much you loved my cock.” His voice changed then to match hers. “Oh, Dred. I think you’ve ruined me for all other men.”

  The sound of it made something explode behind my eyes, and even though it shouldn’t have been possible, I reached out to him with my power. As I did, I found what I was looking for, the ability he’d used to heal himself.

  Uncanny Regeneration– User can heal from any attack that does not outright kill him.

  Disregarding Wrath’s teleportation ability, I pulled the skill into myself, and as I did, I felt my body knit itself together. It was a strange feeling, and I was so focused on it, I missed what happened next.

  “Interesting.” Dred’s voice brought me back to him, and as I turned to look at him, rage unlike anything I’d ever felt surged up inside me.

  The archangels all lay sprawled on the ground around him. Well, all save for one. Dred stood there, one arm crooked around Gabriella’s throat as he held her struggling body against him. Already I could see the light fading from her eyes as he choked the life from her.

  Crackling rage beyond anything I’d ever felt exploded through me as I leapt toward him intent to rip the bastard apart with my bare hands. I wanted to do that. I wanted to hurt him so bad he’d remember it for the rest of his short life. Hell, even that wouldn’t be enough. “Let her go!”

  “Make me.” His eyes met mine.

  Power flared off of me as I called upon the earring to gather a handful of Hellfire. I thrust it at him, and as I did, his sword whipped out from its scabbard, slashing through my attack. As the hellfire exploded into a cloud of debris, he drove Excalibur through my chest.

  Crazily, the thing I remembered from that moment was the smell. Like a million iron filings. It didn’t hurt near as much as it should have as he ripped the blade outward, spilling my entrails across the ground.

  “Don’t worry. You’ll heal.” He snorted as he flicked my blood onto the muddy ground. Then his blade whipped out, tearing a hole in the sky. Inside it, I saw a throne made of skulls and angel feathers, and beside it, two naked women lounged.

  “Seven.” He flung Gabriella through the portal before kneeling down beside me. “Unless you can stop me Builder, but unlike Nadine, I do not plan on letting you win.” He raised his sword.

  “No!” Gwen screamed, and the heat inside my chest swelled. Power drained from me as Dred turned toward the sound of her voice in time to catch Gabriella’s golden mace with his nose. As Gwen followed through on the blow, Dred stumbled backward, falling into the portal.

  He crashed to the ground inside his throne room as the succubus reached out with one hand. Again, I felt my power drain as she grabbed hold of either side of the tear.

  “You can’t close it yet!” I said as Dred got to his feet, his caved in face already healing. “Gabriella is still in there.”

  “Better her than all of us,” Gwen said, right before she slammed the portal shut.

  41

  “Finish the sword,” I snarled at Sam, jerking her to her feet. The blacksmith hung limply in my grip as rain continued to fall from the sky.

  “Arthur—”

  “Don’t talk to me, Gwen,” I said, whirling and glaring at her. “You just sacrificed Gabriella.”

  “I had to do it, Arthur.” Gwen put her hands on her hips. “And even if you don’t believe that, manhandling Sam isn’t going to make it better. She didn’t do anything. I did.” She touched her chest. “Punish me.”

  “Why? That would imply I give a god damn about you, Gwen?” I turned my attention back to Sam, and this time I reached out to her through the mark. “Wake the fuck up.”

  Gwen said something as Sam’s eyes fluttered open. Only I didn’t hear her because fuck her. “Arthur, are you okay?”

  “No.” I hoisted her to her feet. “I need you to complete the sword.”

  “I’ll… I’ll do my best.” Sam met my eyes for a second. “What’s wrong?”

  “She’s what’s wrong.” I pointed at Gwen.

  “Look, I’m as upset as anyone…” Gwen trailed off as Sam looked at her.

  “I’m not following.” Sam took a deep breath. “Last thing I remember is Dred hitting me.” She shook her head. “We’re lucky to be alive.”

  “No. We’re absolutely fucked. Get the sword.” I began dragging her toward her shop. “And I won’t let Gabriella pay for that. Not if I can help it.”

  “What are you talking about?” Sam asked, face scrunching up in confusion as she pulled herself free of her grip. “And stop dragging me, Arthur. I can walk on my own.”

  “Look.” I released her and pointed heavenward. The rain was still falling, turning the ground around us into bloody rivers as angelic bodies kept raining from the sky like a horrific meteor shower.

  “Yeah, I know about that.” She took a breath. “Just slow down.” She began to move toward her shop. “Tell me why we’re still alive.”

  “He took Gabriella, Sam.” I felt tears cloud my vision, and I pushed them back. “I was too fucking weak, and he came and took her. I was supposed to protect her.”

  “It’s not your fault, Arthur. I shut the portal.” Gwen moved up beside us. “Blame me.”

  “If he has Gabriella…” Sam started to speed up before stopping and turning to glare at Gwen. “You stupid bitch. Don’t you realize that Gabriella has the last Armament? With it, He’ll be unstoppable.” Tears began to slide down Sam’s cheeks. “We can’t win.”

  “Sam. Stop. Get the sword.” I put a hand on her shoulder. “Forge the dam
ned sword, and I’ll save her.”

  “You can’t.” It was Lucifer who spoke, and her voice was so surprising we all turned to look at her. Blood poured through her fingers as she clutched the wound. Her other hand was clasped around Michelle’s wrist, and I got the impression she’d dragged the archangel all the way here. “Not as you are, anyway.” She coughed, splattering blood across the ground.

  “Sally!” Gwen cried, spinning on her heel and rushing away. “Sally, come quick!”

  “There has to be a way,” I said, ignoring Lucifer as I met Sam’s eyes. “Get me the sword, and I’ll find it.”

  “What do you mean as he is?” Sam asked, moving toward her sister and kneeling beside her. “Tell me what you mean.”

  “He’ll have to change.” Lucifer nodded toward Michelle. “Take her mark. Take all the angel’s marks.” She touched her chest. “I can show you how to do it, how to harness their power, but I fear even that won’t be enough.”

  “Then what’s the goddamned point?” I asked as Lucifer began to laugh. Blood dribbled down her lips as she looked upward.

  “You’re still thinking small, Arthur.” Lightning flashed above. “Because as it stands, the man who did this to me,” as she touched her wound she met my eyes, “has somehow claimed the marks of Gluttony and Sloth. I could feel them when he destroyed my weapon. I am not sure how he has managed to do so, but we must find out.”

  Her words froze me, and I remembered the two women I’d seen in the throne room. I hadn’t known who they were, but I had a good idea.

  “I see you understand.” She laughed again, and I could see the light fading from her eyes as she slumped forward onto the mud. She caught herself. Barely. “You didn’t face a man with six Armaments. You faced a man with eight.” The Devil picked herself back up and stumbled toward me. “If he gains control of Gabriella’s, it will be nine, and even then, he will want more.” She nodded toward where the rest of the archangels lay unconscious. “He will come for them.”

  “What of Gabriella?” I asked, taking a deep breath as her words sunk home. Once Dred completed his heavenly Armaments, what was to stop him from coming here and taking mine?