The Builder's Throne

by J. A. Cipriano

  “In that, we are in agreement.” She looked down at the water cascading off of her before shifting, so she was standing under the spray, causing it to plaster her hair to her head. She held her hands out and began to weave the water like I’d seen Annabeth do so long ago in the sculpting contest, then just as the form of a Dark General appeared, she stopped, causing the creature to shatter as the water hit the ground.

  “It is true that I helped Dred siege Heaven. I did it so that you could unite Heaven and Hell, Arthur. Had I not done so, Michelle would have never joined forces with you, Builder, nor would she have forgiven Lucifer.” A smile quirked across her lips. “They say the definition of insanity is doing the same things over and over until one loses her mind.” She tapped her temple with one slender finger as she stepped from the shower’s spray, moving so close, her nipples touched my stomach. “Tell me, Builder. Do you think Michelle insane by that definition?”

  “Yes.” It was true. Michelle was the most steadfastly stubborn person I knew. Hell, if she had to find a needle in a haystack, she would do it by examining every single piece of hay one by one. What’s more, I could see Jophiel was right. Sure, she might be twisting things, but I was sure that if Heaven hadn’t fallen, we’d be much worse off.

  Heaven and Hell would definitely not be united, and I would still be lacking a lot of marks and armaments. Samael wouldn’t have been able to recreate the ones Dred had because she wouldn’t have been able to get the plans from the Archive. In short, we’d be fucked.

  “I can see by your eyes you believe what I say.” She shrugged. “It is unsurprising.” She smirked. “I’m fairly intelligent.”

  “Right, because you’re the Archangel of Wisdom. I get it.” I smiled at her, and she nodded.

  “Indeed.” She looked me up and down. “But you do not need to compliment me. It is unnecessary.” She waved a hand at me. “If you wish to have intercourse with me, I will comply. I will do whatever you require of me to get you to listen to me, to help me.” She looked down at me, and a coy smile crossed her lips. “Besides, I’m sure it will be quite enjoyable.”

  It was strange because, in that moment, I did want to fuck her. I wanted to push her up against the wall and take her, and I didn’t quite know why because it had been a long time since I’d felt desire like that. Still, I didn’t do it, not yet anyway. If I did, she might have some kind of scheme, like fucking me while Dred snuck up and slit my throat or something. After all, I was naked in here. I didn’t have the power of my armaments.

  As that realization hit my mind, Jophiel held up a hand. “I will not harm you. There is no trap here. As I said before, I have come to help you.”

  “How?” I said, wondering if I should get out of the shower and dress again. I did still have a few of my armaments, like the earring and necklace, as well as all the marks. I was more than sure it’d be enough to take her down since it’d been more than enough to take down Wrath during one of our sparring sessions a few weeks ago.

  “Simple. I propose you and Dred become allies.” She said no more, waiting for me to respond, which was unnerving.

  “No.” I shook my head. “He’s the bad guy. Why would I want to be his ally? Hell, why would he want to be mine?”

  “Simple.” She shrugged. “Dred has fallen out of favor with the Empress. He will not be able to regain it again, but he is also far too valuable for her to simply discard or destroy. If she does, a new Destroyer will take his place.”

  “What does that matter to me?” I asked, raising an eyebrow at Jophiel. “And how do I even know I can trust you?”

  “Clearly, you are not in a place to trust me yet. That is fine. For now, let me offer you something else, a token of trust if you will.” She stepped closer, pressing her breasts against me. “As a way to earn your trust, I will tell you where Belial is. Afterward, we can discuss this further.”

  “How do you know I’ll talk with you then?”

  “Because I am the Archangel of Wisdom.” With those words still lingering between us, she kissed me, and in that instant, I knew exactly how to find Belial. “And I can teach you how to enter the Darkness without drawing the Generals’ attention.”

  5

  “Sam, do you think you can make this Dark Shard Talisman?” I asked as I finished drawing out the recipe Jophiel had implanted in my mind.

  I was standing in Sam’s Blacksmith shop, and as I looked up, I found myself looking at the cute smith. It’d been weeks since I’d even come to see her, and it felt like that long too. She’d grown out her short pink hair and had instead, done it in a crazy updo. What’s more, I could see bags under her eyes that made her seem older despite her cute, pixie features.

  The rest of the shop was also a lot more cluttered than I remembered it being, which was because it was also bigger than I remembered. Multiple forges sat within it, with multiple workstations, and as I surveyed the nearly empty building, I wondered where the rest of the workers were. Hadn’t Michelle been supposed to get them working?

  “Yes, I can make this,” Sam said, looking down at the scrap of paper, her eyes narrowed in concentration. “It’s not even that hard, really.” She tapped one scarred finger on the plans. “I’m just confused how you got this. Some of these techniques haven’t been readily used for centuries.”

  “I got it from the dungeon with the moss,” I lied. Part of me felt bad about it, but I couldn’t let her know it came from Jophiel. If I did, Sam might not make it, and I had to have it made. If it worked like it did in the images Jophiel had implanted in my mind, then it would allow me to take whatever we needed from the Darkness without the Generals knowing I was there.

  “You’re lying. I can tell because you are looking at the ceiling.” She waved a hand at me, dismissively. “You don’t have to tell me. I’d like to think you could trust me, but I know my place what with everything going on.” She shrugged. “I’ll get on this. Maybe take a day or so.”

  “Can you have it in an hour?” I asked, feeling bad as I said it. “I know you have other things in the queue, but I really need this.”

  “Do you have permission from Michelle to shunt the queue?” she asked before stopping herself and sighing. “Of course, you don’t.” She looked down at the plans. “I’ll get it done for you, Arthur, but if I get in trouble, you’re the one going under the bus.” She stepped away from her workbench, moving to one of her shelves. It was filled with ingredients I couldn’t readily identify since most were alchemical in nature.

  “Michelle and I aren’t exactly on good terms right now,” I said with a shrug. “And, Sam, I appreciate you helping me out.”

  “Arthur, Michelle is trying really hard. She lets you get away with more than anyone else ever has. You might do better to try to be easier to work with.” Sam held up a hand before I could tell her just what I thought of that idea. “I don’t want to argue with you. I know you’re the reason we are where we are, but that doesn’t mean she’s useless. That’s all I’m saying.”

  “So, an hour?” I asked, and she sighed. Loudly.

  “Yes.” She made a shooing motion. “Now go away. I have to get all the forges back to snuff so the night shift can start working.” She met my eyes. “Apparently someone decreed we have a night shift.”

  “We need to get the city finished.” I probably should have felt bad, but I didn’t. “The Darkness will come back, and when it does, we’ll have wished we had done more.”

  “Unless we’re all too tired to put up a fight.” Sam smirked. “When was the last time you slept?”

  “I…” I thought back, trying to remember. “I think I caught a nap two or three days ago.” I sighed. I hated to admit it, but I hadn’t been sleeping. Every time I shut my eyes all I saw was the oncoming horde. I felt the unceasing, unblinking stare of the Empress and knew I was but a mote in her eye.

  “You should try to sleep.” She took a step toward me. “If you need company with that, I offer myself as tribute.” She touched my bicep with one hand
before running her fingers down my arm. “I could give you a good workout too.”

  “Yeah … I just …” I sighed, shaking my head. It had also been a while since I’d slept with Sam. It was strange because I really liked her both in and out of bed, and yet, I hadn’t even thought about sex.

  “I know, you don’t have time.” She met my eyes. “You should make some time. Blow off some steam, but if not with me, then with someone.” She bit her lip. “Maribelle says you still owe her a shower, by the way.”

  “There are more important things to do,” I said, suddenly feeling guilty. “I’ll be back in an hour.”

  “All right,” she said as I opened the door to step outside. “But it takes only a few minutes to get a blowjob, and while it isn’t my favorite thing, I bet little miss ‘the best thing in life is giving blowjobs, tee hee’ would be more than happy to oblige you.”

  “You should be nicer to Gwen,” I said, rolling my eyes. “I mean, she’s a succubus.”

  “Yeah, emphasis on the suck.” Sam snickered behind me, and I decided I didn’t need to defend Gwen. She’d been trying to get me to blow off some steam with her for a while, but I hadn’t with her specifically because I’d been worried she’d sap my energy again. The last thing I needed was to be weaker.

  Besides, I had more important things to deal with than my sex life with the succubus. I had to focus on keeping everyone safe.

  Taking a deep breath, I headed outside to see if people were actually working, but before I made it a few steps, it was plainly obvious people were doing their jobs. The sound of construction filled my ears as both angels and demons stumbled from their beds and got back to work.

  Michelle had taken me seriously and heeded my request. I wasn’t sure why, but that made me feel pretty good. After all, she was a millennia-old angel and could be downright stubborn when she wanted to be.

  I moved through the streets, a pleased smile on my face as I watched a group of demons working to fit a door into the frame of a building that was supposed to be a hatchery. I wasn’t sure what a hatchery even did, but we hadn’t had one, and Gwen and Mammon had argued for it so…

  “Is everything to your liking, master?” Michelle’s voice shocked me from my reverie, and when I turned to look at her, she immediately cast her eyes down at the ground by my feet. “If it isn’t, I can have the slaves do something differently. I wouldn’t want you to be upset.”

  “The slaves?” I asked, confused. “And why are you looking at the ground?”

  “I wouldn’t dare to look upon the face of the glorified convenience store clerk who found a magic sword in a pawnshop and thinks he can make better tactical decisions than the angelic guardian who has safeguarded Heaven for all time.”

  “I’m sensing a bit of sarcasm,” I replied, trying to keep my temper in check. I could tell from the way she bristled at my response, I wasn’t giving her what she wanted. No. For some reason she wanted me to get mad at her. I just didn’t know why because I was being logical. I could see the big picture while she was focused on the weeds. Things that wouldn’t matter once the Darkness attacked and the Generals decided they wanted to curbstomp us. Hell, it was lucky they hadn’t yet, and something told me there was a reason for that.

  “I speak only truth.” Michelle sank a bit lower before prostrating herself before me. “Please, tell me how better I might serve your needs, master.”

  “You can stop doing whatever this is,” I said, gesturing at her. “I respect your opinion, so stop acting like I don’t. I’ve literally never told you otherwise.” I sighed. “The problem is you don’t respect my opinion.”

  “You broke Lucifer to prove a point, Arthur.” Michelle glared up at me, rage swimming through her eyes. “I got the point. Do what you say because you’re the strong one or get out of the way.” She took a deep breath. “I recognize your strength.”

  “Okay …” I said, and as I stared at her for a moment, I decided I didn’t want to play her games anymore. “I’m going to head into the Darkness. When I went through the dungeon, I got a lead on Belial.”

  “You can’t do that, Arthur. It’s not safe.” Michelle stood, all pretense gone. “You said the thing you fought nearly killed you. So, what makes you think you can go in there and succeed?”

  “Sam is working on an item to mask me from the Darkness.” I gestured toward the Blacksmith’s shop. “With any luck, it will actually work.”

  “I don’t like the idea of it …” She paused for a moment then, very slowly, reached out and took my hands and squeezed them. “But if you think you can do it, then you should. The truth is, I don’t need you here to run everything, and you’re right, we should have done more, focused more on each of us doing what we can all do best.”

  6

  “Arthur, if anything happens, I want you to run away. I don’t want you to do anything dumb because we can’t lose you.” Michelle bit her lip like she wanted to say more as the two of us stood on the brink of the Darkness. As we’d ventured here, the sense that I was moving toward Belial had grown stronger and stronger, and now that I was actually staring into the void, I could feel the pulse of Belial’s life force just beyond.

  “I’ll be okay, Michelle.” I touched the talisman around my neck, and the Darkness in front of me seemed to shrink back. That had never happened before, and while I still didn’t quite know if this thing would work, I knew I’d find out pretty quickly. After all, I’d escaped the Generals before. I could do it again.

  “I hope so.” Michelle touched my hand. “And while you’re gone, I’ll get the city built.” She turned toward the Darkness. “If things are as you say, we’ll need everything to stop it, and that last achievement has taken long enough.” She gave me a small, hesitant smile. “Though I still hope you’re wrong.”

  “I wish I were wrong too, but I’m not.” I looked at the angel for a long moment, and as her blue eyes met mine, I knew she was counting on me. It almost made me feel worse because she was trusting me, and she didn’t even know I was about to go on a mission for the angel who had let her city be sacked to prove a point.

  Michelle nodded. “Good luck, Arthur.” Then she kissed her index finger and pressed it to my cheek. “Be victorious.”

  “Thanks,” I said, following her hand as she touched it to her chest. The gesture seemed strange, especially since she’d not shown a lot of affection toward me in the past. It felt a bit off, though I didn’t know why. Still, now wasn’t the time to think about it. Now was the time to find Belial, take her power, and drive back the Darkness thing. Only then would everyone I cared about be safe.

  I stepped into the breach, and as I did, the scenery changed, exploding into a blackened, smoke-filled landscape. Fire blazed across the hills, making it look like, well, Hell. Mountain ranges jutted from the earth to my left like jagged funeral pyres, and as I stared at them, the talisman pulsed around my neck like a solar flare.

  Emerald light exploded from its surface, casting outward across the ground in front of me and illuminating me in a way that made me feel naked and exposed. Then the whole world seemed to hit me at once, driving me to my knees. My mouth opened in a wordless scream as the Darkness swirled through me like rushing water through netting. The feeling didn’t hurt exactly, but I’d not want to do it again willingly.

  Grinding my teeth together, I gripped the hilt of Caliburn and pushed myself to my feet as I waited for the other shoe to drop, for the Generals to come. But as one minute turned to five and five turned to fifteen, nothing came. Not a General or even the lizard men that so appeared within seconds of me entering the void. It was as unreal as it was unnerving.

  What’s more, though?

  Jophiel had told the truth, and if I’d had this power months ago, how different would things be now?

  All those dungeons I’d attempted, all those lands I’d fought to restore, all those failures …

  I shook off the thought. There was no use thinking about that. It was time to step forward, find Be
lial, and use her power to drive the rest of my enemies before me.

  Taking a deep breath that smelled like formaldehyde, I shut my eyes and focused on the heartbeat of Belial’s power. I found it to my left, toward the flaming mountain range. My steps seemed to echo across the desolate plains as I moved, each step pressing against the hardened earth in a way that had me thinking enemies were going to pop out to skewer me.

  Only there was nothing for them to pop out from. Aside from the mountains in the distance, the horizon was empty, leaving me exposed if not for the power of the talisman around my neck.

  As I touched the object, I took a deep breath, hoping it wouldn’t suddenly conk out. I still didn’t trust the Archangel of Wisdom, but if this worked, I might not have a choice in the matter. The enemy of my enemy and all that.

  After what felt like forever, the mountains loomed in front of me, and though I could feel the moisture lick from my skin with every step I took, I pressed onward. Only, as I approached the center of the blaze, I found Jophiel standing there. It was weird because I should have seen her before, but I just didn’t. One moment she was just there, and as I took a quick step backward, she vanished once more.

  Taking another step forward caused her to reappear. Interesting.

  “Jophiel?” I asked, narrowing my eyes at her. “Why are you here?”

  Unlike last time, she was clothed. A long white gown fell from her naked shoulders to her feet. Gold filigree ran up the sides before crossing over the carriage of her breasts in a geometric pattern that reminded me of those ancient Greek designs. Her hair was left loose to flow around her shoulders like a crimson wave, and when she smiled at me, her cheeks dimpled.

  “You’ve come.” She nodded to me, green eyes flashing with amusement. “I wondered if you would.”

  “Didn’t you know I would?” I asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

  “I had my suspicions, but no one can know everything, Arthur.” She shrugged, a mischievous smile tugging at her lips. “In one scenario, I posited you would bring Uriel and Michelle. In another, Lucifer.” She gestured at me. “However, sixty percent of expected scenarios had you coming alone. Those are not bad odds.”