Table of Contents
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Also by J. A. Cipriano
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
The Builder’s Sword
The Legendary Builder Book #1
J. A. Cipriano
Copyright © 2017 by J. A. Cipriano
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Contents
Want to get this FREE?
Also by J. A. Cipriano
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Thank You for reading!
Author’s Note
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Soulstone: Awakening
Soulstone: The Skeleton King
Elements of Wrath Online
Ring of Promise
Kingdom of Heaven
The Skull Throne
The Thrice Cursed Mage
Cursed
Marked
Burned
Seized
Claimed
Hellbound
The Half-Demon Warlock
Pound of Flesh
Flesh and Blood
Blood and Treasure
The Lillim Callina Chronicles
Wardbreaker
Kill it with Magic
The Hatter is Mad
Fairy Tale
Pursuit
Hardboiled
Mind Games
Fatal Ties
Clans of Shadow
Heart of Gold
Feet of Clay
Fists of Iron
The Spellslinger Chronicles
Throne to the Wolves
Prince of Blood and Thunder
Found Magic
May Contain Magic
The Magic Within
Magic for Hire
Witching on a Starship
Maverick
Planet Breaker
1
I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself down. My heart was hammering so hard in my chest, I was sure the people at the bus stop could hear it. Ignoring their nasty looks as best I could, I stepped off the bus, pulled my coat around me, and made my way past them.
I was in the bad part of town. Dilapidated buildings hugged the horizon, their boarded-up windows a testament to the job loss that had taken place after the manufacturing shop in the company town had moved overseas.
Still, I didn’t have time to think about it, not if I wanted to secure my prize, anyway. After my stop at the bank to pull every penny I had saved out of my savings account, I could practically feel the weight of my life savings drawing all eyes to me. It would only take one thug to push me down and steal it away at knife point.
I glanced around the parking lot, trying to see if anyone was waiting to accost me, but thankfully, the coast looked clear. Barely resisting the urge to stick my hand in my pocket and check my wad of cash again, I hurried across the cracked asphalt toward my destination, Angel’s Pawnshop. It was a huge building, having slowly taken over the strip mall where it resided. The plastered-over, yellowed signs of a pet shop, comic book store, and an accountant was still there.
Actually, when I’d first found the place, it’d been because I’d seen the sign for the comic shop and gotten off the bus to scope it out. I loved comics, old ones especially, but I’d never had the kind of cash for the hobby. I was forever wishing I had a Spider-Man #121 (the issue where Gwen Stacy died) or a Hulk #181 (the first appearance of Wolverine), but alas at their current price tag, I’d have to skip paying rent for a month or two to have that kind of scratch. At least if I wanted to own more than the cover, anyway.
As I stepped onto the cracked concrete in front of the massive neon purple building, I took a look up and down the streets. Unlike most strip malls, I didn’t see any of the homeless that were everywhere in the city. While I’d been mugged a few times when I’d missed the bus and been forced to walk home from work, I’d never worried about it here. Sure, I didn’t have my life savings in my pocket then, but this was one of the reasons I’d risked it.
Angel’s Pawnshop was one of the safest places to do business in the entire city, and I’d heard that was because Merle, the owner, had paid a military contractor to clean up his little slice of heaven. They’d rounded up all the homeless and dumped them at the McDonald's a few blocks away. Then they’d patrolled it long enough to make the muggers think twice before coming back because no one wanted to risk bringing valuables or getting large sums of cash when they could get robbed. Made sense given their sort of clientele.
I took a deep breath and stared at the barred glass doors in front of me. A red open sign glowed to my right, and even though I knew it was hopeless, I tried to loo
k inside, anyway. Unfortunately, the motley collection of eighties and nineties movie posters made it impossible to see even the barest glimpses inside. I’d heard that the main reason the windows were blocked out was that Merle sometimes bargained for less than reputable items, but I’d never seen anything strange inside.
Truth be told, the place was like a wonderland of old knickknacks that someone somewhere had found valuable. And while they hadn’t had any comics I’d wanted that day, they’d had something else, something I coveted a lot more than comics.
“No time like the present,” I muttered to myself and ran a hand through my shaggy brown hair, brushing it out of my eyes. I knew it wouldn’t help much because I needed a haircut, but thanks to the twin cowlicks at the back of my head, I always had to get my hair cut really short. Since it was winter, the idea of freezing my ears off wasn’t exactly appealing. And don’t even get me started on hats. They made me look ridiculous.
I pushed open the doors, eliciting a loud screech from the buzzer by the door. As I stepped into the store, the wash of heat inside hit me. It’d been chilly outside, with the first hint of rain barely clinging to the clouds in the sky. Inside was different, and as I glanced from old records stacked next to a crate full of musical instruments, I almost pulled off my jacket.
Instead, I rubbed the back of my neck with one hand and tried to find Merle. He wasn’t behind the counter, but I knew he’d seen me thanks to the huge television mounted on the wall behind it. My mug was plastered on it as I stood there fidgeting, and without thinking, I tried to smooth out my hair since it was sticking straight up. It was no use, and I quickly gave up.
Moving quickly, I made my way past a rack full of blenders and toward the stuffed animals in the back left corner of the store. My footsteps seemed to echo on the cement floor as the fluorescent lighting blazed overhead. I dug my hand into my pocket, and as I felt the wad of bills with my fingertips, my beating heart eased its pace a tad. I had enough to buy my prize. Things were going to be okay.
Stepping out from between the racks at the back of the store, I found myself staring at a glass case filled with watches. I wasn’t sure if they were real or not, but I also didn’t care because I was staring at the pegboard just beyond the case where the swords were kept.
Excitement filled me as my gaze roamed over the board, trying to find the one I’d set my eyes on when I’d first come in here six months ago. It had been rusted to hell, but something about the blade had spoken to me. I wasn’t sure why since it was nearly black with tarnish, and the hilt was rather simple.
Still, the moment I’d laid eyes upon it, I’d known I needed to own it. I’d felt the pull of the weapon with every ounce of my being. There was just one problem. It’d cost so much money, I couldn’t buy it. Hell, even with working doubles and barely eating, I’d still had to sell nearly everything I’d owned to buy the weapon.
Only, I couldn’t find it on the rack. Where was it? I took a step forward, knees shaking and smacked my palms on the glass case as I leaned forward for a better look. It wasn’t there. The spot where it’d been hung empty. How could that be?
“Looking for something, Arthur?” Merle asked, his deep English voice washing over me a moment before I felt his huge, rough hand slap onto my shoulder. The feel of his touch shocked me from my sudden panic, and as I turned to look at the wizened pawnbroker, I let out a small squeak.
His sapphire blue eyes burned into me from beneath the brim of his camouflage baseball cap. He took a step back from me and ran a hand down his long white wizard beard as he studied me.
“Um… yeah.” I swallowed hard. I turned and pointed to the empty space. “You had a sword there…”
His eyes shifted from me to the spot and back again, and I could have sworn he looked a bit confused. “You mean the one you called about this morning and said you’d pick up after work and to put in the back?” His words held a hint of amusement.
Embarrassment washed over my cheeks as I looked down at my beat-up sneakers like they were the most interesting thing in the world. “Yes, that one… sorry, just nervous I guess. Have you sold it?”
“Arthur, you’re the only person who has so much as looked at that sword in the whole time I’ve owned it.” He put a hand on my shoulder. “I wrapped it up this morning.” He gestured back toward the front counter. “I’ve had it up there since you called, and I’ll be happy to sell it to you.” He leaned in close. “Assuming you have the cash.”
“I do,” I said, shoving my hand in my pocket and pulling out the wad. Everything I had in the world. “Please.”
He looked at my cash for a moment before nodding. “I do believe we can make a deal.”
2
Rain drenched the parking lot as I stepped out of Angel’s Pawnshop, the sword safely tucked beneath my arm. It was wrapped in brown butcher’s paper and was about five feet long, making me stand out like a sore thumb.
I glanced around just to make sure no one was watching me. While I was pretty sure no one would mug me for a rusty old sword, I’d just spent my life savings on it. The last thing I wanted was for some thug with his pants around his ankles to stab me and take it because he thought it would make him feel cool.
“Fuck!” I cried as I spied my bus shutting its doors. Had I been in the pawn shop that long? A quick glance at my watch had me cursing myself for being late. I’d spent over an hour inside, and if I didn’t catch this bus, I’d be stuck waiting at the stop in the rain for the next thirty minutes.
I waved my arms, trying to signal the bus to stop as it pulled away from the curb. My new sword cut through the air as I flailed, the rain drenching the paper and making it stick to the weapon that made me worried it’d tear through. That was the last thing I needed. If the bus saw me chasing after it with a sword, who knew what would happen?
Thunder boomed overhead as I sprinted across the lot, splashing through puddles with reckless abandon. I was already soaked to the skin despite my jacket’s relatively good defense against the rain. Lightning arced through the sky as I hit the edge of the parking lot and cried out.
“Stop!” my cry was drowned out by the crackle of thunder, and the brake lights flashed as the bus began to pull away.
“No,” I huffed, my chest heaving from the effort as I leaped the small array of wildflowers that separated the pawn shop parking lot from the sidewalk. My sneakers hit the puddle-laden sidewalk with a squelch. Water flew in every direction as I waved my hands again.
More lightning arched through the sky as the brake lights on the bus flashed. I hit the curb a second later. My hand snaked out to rap on the side of the bus as the doors opened to reveal a svelte black lady with blonde cornrows. She took one look at me through the open doors and sighed.
“Come on, get in,” she said, smacking the steering wheel with one hand. “You’re making me late.” Thunder boomed again. “I was gonna leave you, truth be told, but the storm made me feel bad.”
“Thanks, I appreciate it.” I nodded to her, flashing my bus pass at the scanner as I stepped inside.
“Everyone’s got to do one good thing a day.” She took one look at me and shrugged. “You’re mine.”
I wasn’t quite sure how to respond to that, so I just nodded as I made my way past her toward the back of the bus. I flopped down on an empty seat beside the door and looked around. The bus was mostly empty, containing only a younger Asian man in a rain-soaked shirt with his jacket over his lap, and a lady who was either a nurse or a dental assistant judging by the scrubs. Both of them looked frazzled, which wasn’t surprising given the late hour, and neither paid me any attention.
The nurse just kept looking through her phone, and the guy fiddled with his jacket like he felt like he should be doing something but wasn’t sure what. I could relate. I was never sure of what I should be doing.
Granted, I was glad I had a job at the local Seven Eleven, but I was pretty sure I hadn’t been put on this planet just to serve Slurpees. I mean, it wasn’t like I tho
ught I was destined for greatness or anything, but well, never mind.
I’d originally taken the job because I’d been able to study during the downtime easily enough but somewhere along the way, I’d run out of money to actually pay for books and what not. With my parents gone and my closest relative nearly sixteen hours away, I’d been forced to drop out.
I still had delusions of becoming a software engineer one day and had even worked my way through most of MIT’s coursework, but so far, I hadn’t gotten so much as a nibble from any of the local companies. Though that was probably because there were no jobs and I was way too much of a pussy to go find one somewhere else. I’d grown up in this stupid city and felt a little responsible for it even though the businesses who’d run it into the ground clearly hadn’t.
While I wasn’t quite sure what held me here, I did have a job and it afforded me time. I lived in a relatively roach free studio and owned a computer with a burgeoning Steam account. It was more than easy to waste away and not think things would ever get too bad.
Besides, I had a sword now and what a sword it was. It was a little weird, to be honest. I could tell it was worth something and just needed a little TLC, but at the same time I couldn’t figure out why. It reminded me of one of those ancient longswords, but I’d seen tons of them at shows and while cool, I doubted this one was authentic. If it had been, it wouldn’t be in a pawn shop. It’d be in a museum somewhere. Still, something about it had drawn my eye though I couldn’t say why since Merle hadn’t cleaned it for fear of ruining the value. I just knew I had to have it.
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