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

by J. A. Cipriano

  Not one to be outdone, I gripped my bird in the same way and pulled as hard as I could to my right. The falcon squealed as it flapped its mighty wings, jerking us hard to the side and moving toward Annabeth. I tossed a glance at her, and she smiled at me and nodded like I was a new pup who had just learned to play fetch.

  “So, what’s the plan?” I yelled, hoping my voice wasn’t drowned out by the wind whipping by us and the beating of huge falcon wings.

  Annabeth must have heard me because she pointed off into the distance. I craned my head toward the spot she’d indicated and saw what looked like an ebony castle. I wasn’t quite sure how large it was because we were so high… in… the… air…

  My heart leapt into my throat as I realized I could easily fall to my doom. I took a deep breath and tried to keep from freaking out. Then I shut my eyes and took a long slow breath. When I opened my eyes a moment later, we were nearly to the castle.

  I pushed as hard as I could on the bird’s head, and we fell into a dive that nearly had me calling for my mommy… which I totally didn’t do despite what you may have heard from a certain sculptor.

  A second later, we were on the ground, and I realized the castle wasn’t as big as I’d thought. It was only about fifty or so feet tall. The blocks were made of what looked like obsidian and had a sort of flaked look to them that reminded me of the way people used to make spearheads by chipping away at the rock.

  I sat there on the back of my falcon, partially waiting for my heart to stop trying to flee my body, and partially waiting for Annabeth to land as she circled above me in a slow dive. After what felt like an eternity, she touched down beside me and shot me a wry grin.

  “Well, we’re here.” Annabeth gestured toward the castle, which was sort of funny because as soon as she released her hold on the giant bird, the creature bucked her off. She hit the ground with a thud, laying there for a moment dazed as the falcon eyed her. It snorted, scratching at the ground beside her with one massive claw before leaping in the air, and I’ll admit, I was a little surprised it hadn’t slashed her into ribbons.

  Either way, after Annabeth got to her feet and glared at the retreating falcon like she was double-dog-daring it to come back, she motioned for me to get down. I was a little hesitant. What if my bird didn’t decide to just leave? I took a deep breath and leaned in close to the beast.

  “I promise if you don’t try to eat me, I won’t fly on your back again. Deal?” I asked as I tentatively released it. When it didn’t throw me to the dirt immediately, I took that as a good sign and jumped off its back.

  The sand was warm beneath my feet even though it was the color of freshly spilled blood just like the ground had been in the place where we first arrived. I was about to make a remark about it when my bird slashed at me with its huge golden beak. I dove forward as the blow tore into my armor, throwing sparks across the ground. I hit the dirt in a roll, trying to ignore the rage welling up inside me because my stupid bird had decided to try to eat me.

  I came to my feet and sprinted toward Annabeth. She stood just inside an archway that was just big enough for a man to walk through, which was good because I was pretty sure the falcon wouldn’t be able to come after me. I just had to get there.

  “Come on!” she cried, unleashing a blast at the huge falcon with her dagger. I didn’t see the effects of the attack, but the shriek that followed nearly shattered my eardrums.

  As I burst through the entrance, I tried to stop myself, but my momentum carried me forward, anyway. I collided with the far wall and split my lip on the sharp stone.

  The bird stomped one clawed foot on the sand outside with enough force to shake the ground beneath my feet. The falcon screeched behind me, making the hairs on the back of my neck stand up straight before shoving one beady eye against the entryway and glaring at me. It was unnerving. Almost like it was telling me that if it ever saw me again, it would eat me. Then again, it could have just been in my head.

  “Well, that was close,” I breathed, wiping my face with one hand. I could still hear the falcon outside, but that was fine with me. Outside was where it belonged.

  “Too close,” Annabeth agreed as I looked around the room. The walls were made of that same chipped black stone, and blazing blue torches flickered on the walls, casting dancing shadows across the space.

  “So, left or right?” I asked, glancing in either direction. Both led off through archways similar to the one leading outside, but I couldn’t see down either of them because they were so dark.

  “Let’s try left,” Annabeth said, moving toward the closest torch and grabbing it like she meant to pull it free of its sconce. Only as she touched it, all the torches went out, and the sound of hissing gas filled the air. I spun, intent on going for the doorway leading back outside, but as I did, a wall of rock slammed down in front of us, sealing us inside.

  As I summoned magic into my sword to give us some light in this godforsaken darkness, I heard something thudding to our left. I whirled in time to see the passageway blocked to our left. Cursing, I spun back around in time to see Annabeth collapse to the floor as green gas sprayed from a vent behind the torch she’d grabbed.

  I moved toward her, intent to grab her and pull her to safety, but the moment I got close, my vision went hazy. My sword hit the ground with a clang went out, and darkness surrounded me. I held my breath, trying to pull myself backward, but my body felt so heavy I couldn’t make it move.

  My legs went out from under me, and I fell, only I didn’t even feel myself hit the ground.

  15

  Cold water startled me awake, and as my eyes fluttered open, I found myself staring at a goblin so covered in jewelry I could barely make out her flesh. Her arms were covered in bangles, wristbands, and bracelets. Her ears were dotted by studs and had golden hoops punched through the outside. She leaned in close to me, causing her much too big golden chainmail shirt to jangle noisily.

  “How could you be so stupid as to try to steal from me?” the goblin asked, getting all up in my business. She smelled like sweat, metal, and oil, and as she regarded me like something she’d scraped off the bottom of her shoe, I tried to figure out just how fucked I was on my fuck-o-meter. As the goblin continued to glare at me, I was pretty sure it was somewhere between totally and absolutely.

  “We didn’t try to steal anything from you,” I said, trying to move away. Only it was no use because I was tied to a stone chair with so much rope I’d have never been able to wiggle my fingers, let alone break free.

  “Liar!” she screamed, her left hand jutting out to point at Annabeth. “She tried to steal my most prized torch.” The goblin hugged herself. “Of all the torches. Why did you have to go for that one? The others I could have possibly forgiven, but that one? No chance.” She shook her head, eliciting another jingle-jangle from her clothing, and I got the impression her pockets were stuffed to the brim with more gold.

  “We weren’t trying to steal it,” I said carefully. “We knew it was your favorite, so we were bringing it to you.” I shot her my best smile.

  “More lies!” the goblin screeched, turning her back on me. “How could you have known it was my favorite? I didn’t even know it was my favorite until you tried to take it from me.” She craned her head back around and fixed me with her gold-flecked green eyes. “Riddle me that!”

  “I’m guessing you’re the Archangel of Envy,” I said, meeting her eyes, but it was like trying to stare down a toddler that was seconds away from throwing a fit in the middle of the goddamned store because you would not let her have candy. Only this time, there was no distracted parent on a cell phone to save me.

  “How do you know that?” she asked, spinning back around with such fury that gold coins flew from her pockets and scattered across the ground with a clang. Her eyes went wide as she looked to and fro before pouncing on the closest coins. She covered them with her arms while eyeing me carefully. “I see you watching my gold. Well, you can’t have it, it’s all mine.”


  “I don’t want your gold,” I said, watching the goblin.

  “Why not?” she asked, stopping so suddenly it was damned near creepy. Her hand hung there, clasping the coin she’d picked up as she slowly turned her gaze down to it. “Why don’t you want it? Is there something wrong with it?” She eyed the coin suspiciously, causing more coins to fall to the ground. “You didn’t answer me. Why don’t you want my gold?” She crossed her arms over her chest. “Everyone wants my gold.”

  “I can assure you. I absolutely do not want your gold,” I said, taking a deep breath and looking around the room. Aside from the goblin and Annabeth, there was no one else in here. Hell, there was nothing at all in the room save brick walls. It made me want to look behind me to see if we were in some kind of cell, but since there was so much rope binding my head to the chair, I couldn’t do that.

  “You’re not talking sense.” The goblin sidled up to me and held out a single gold coin to me. “I might be persuaded to give you one if you tell me why you don’t want it.” She watched me for a second before her eyes flickered to the coin in her hand. “But not this one.” She shoved the coin back in her pocket and began rummaging around. “None of these ones, but a different one maybe. These are too special to part with.” She looked back up at me, watching me with fevered intensity. “Tell me.” She grabbed me by the shoulders and shook me so hard the entire chair rocked from the effort.

  “I just didn’t come here for gold. I—”

  “So, you did come here to steal something!” she said leaping onto me and pressing her face against mine. “I knew it.” Her eyes narrowed. “Tell me what it is.”

  “I came here for you,” I replied.

  “Well, you can’t have… wait, you came here for me?” the goblin pulled back a couple inches and looked at me carefully. “Why would you come here for me?” She cocked her head to the side. “No one ever wants me.”

  “I do.” I nodded quickly. “That’s why my friend and I came here. We were trying to find you.” I took a deep breath as she turned to regard Annabeth.

  “I do not believe you,” the goblin said, but she sounded unsure. “I think you’re tricking me, trying to get my gold.” She gave me a sly look and tapped her forehead. “I’m onto you, don’t think I’m not.” She leaned back in then placing her mouth near my ear. “But tell me why you want me. I must know.” She pulled back again. “Or are you just tricking me?” She tapped her chin before leaping off of me, causing more coins to spill across the ground, only this time she ignored them. “I think you’re tricking me.” She began to pace in front of me. “Are you tricking me?” she looked up at me. “Well, are you? I must know. Tell me the answer.”

  “I’m not tricking you. I was really excited when I found out you were here. It’s one of the reasons I came all this way.” I nodded, trying to convince her. The sad thing was, it should have been easy to do because it was true, but something told me she wasn’t playing with a full deck.

  “One of the reasons?” she asked, raising a pierced eyebrow at me. “What were the other reasons?” She pointed a spindly, bejeweled finger at me. “Were the others to steal from me?! Admit it, thief!”

  “You need to chill with the thief stuff,” I said, taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly. I didn’t know what this was exactly, but Envy was clearly broken in a way that made no sense to me. Was it because she’d spent so long down here with just her gold for company? I wasn’t sure, but while Sathanus has seemed a few cookies short of a jar, the Archangel of Envy seemed like someone had left only crumbs in hers.

  “But you’re a thief, aren’t you?” the archangel watched me carefully. “Aren’t you?”

  “I’m not a thief. I don’t want your stuff.” I sighed. “We’ve been through this. I came here for you.” I nodded. “Understand?”

  “Don’t patronize me, boy,” she spat, stamping one foot on the ground and causing more coins to fall to the ground. “To do so would be to invite doom. You do not want to invite doom.”

  “I don’t,” I said, wondering exactly what she was going to do to me.

  “Why not?” She stamped her foot again. “I give really great doom. You’d like it. Well, not like it exactly…” She trailed off into mumbling. “God, you’re blowing it. Just be natural. Get him to reveal what he plans to steal. He must want to steal something. No one would come here for you. No, no, no.”

  “I’m the Builder of Legend,” I said, and at my words, she stopped and looked at me, understanding dawning across her features.

  “Ah ha!” she said, pointing at me once more. “So that’s why you’re here, is it?” The goblin crossed her arms over her chest. “Well, you won’t get any materials from me. They’re all mine. Every last brick is mine. Every twig, every bit of moss. Mine, mine, mine.”

  “I said, I don’t want that stuff.” I sighed, not sure how to make her understand. “Look, can you untie me?”

  “So that’s what you want? To be untied?” She took a step toward me and flicked her hands out, causing long black talons to sprout from her fingertips. “Maybe we can work out a deal,” she added, leaning close to me. “Where you get nothing! Bwa, ha, ha!” She stopped her maniacal laugh and touched my calf with one talon. “How do you feel about that?”

  “Honestly, just meeting you is all I wanted,” I said, shutting my eyes. Envy was way too insane to deal with, and Dred only had five Armaments. Maybe I didn’t need Envy’s armament. Maybe I could just figure out a way to get home and run the fuck away. No. That was wrong. I was the Builder, it was my job to fix whatever this was.

  I opened my eyes and found the archangel's face to be only millimeters from my own. Her huge eyes stared right into mine.

  “Give it back,” she said, and her voice was cold and angry. I felt her talons on my throat then as she pressed her thumb into my flesh. Not hard, but enough to let me know she could skewer me with ease.

  “Give what back?” I asked, very carefully.

  “Give back what you wanted!” she snapped, salvia flecking across my face. “Now!”

  “I can’t give it back. It’s just a feeling,” I said, taken aback. “Do you honestly expect me to give back that I wanted to meet you? That’s like, not even possible.”

  “That’s exactly what a thief would say,” she snarled, wings rising from her back. They were unlike anything I’d seen before, resembling the wings of the green dragons I’d seen in Blade’s End. They were sort of bat-like in shape, but the flesh was green and gold with giant golden prongs on the ends. Only the gold didn’t look natural. It looked like prongs had been dipped in gold. More piercings covered the wings themselves, so that when she unfurled them, it was nearly blinding in the torchlight.

  “Fine, you can have it back.” I sighed.

  “I don’t believe you,” she said, and as she spoke, she seemed to grow in size. Her face elongated and her eyes turned into serpentine slits. “I think you still want to meet me.” She leapt off the ground. “This will not do.” She began to pace again, but this time, as she did, her body seemed to stretch, and her legs seemed to divide, so that in only a few moments, she practically filled the room with her serpentine bulk.

  “Trust me. I wish I’d never met you,” I said as she turned back to me, eyeing me with a face that was more lizard than anything else. I couldn’t even tell how it’d happened. One moment she was a goblin, and the next? The next she was a huge fucking serpent with a billion arms and legs. What made matters worse was that as her bulk pressed against the walls of the room, I got the distinct impression she hadn’t stopped growing, and if that was true, we were at risk of being crushed.

  “How can I know you mean that?” she hissed. “Do you even know what it’s like when someone tries to take something from you?” Her huge head surged forward, and her black tongue flicked out, tasting the air like the snake she was. “Do you?!”

  “Yes, actually.” I swallowed and shut my eyes. “I’m an orphan. I lost my parents when I was really young. So yeah,
I kinda know what it feels like.” I narrowed my eyes at the giant serpent. “And, you know what, fuck off.”

  “Interesting,” the archangel said, turning its head so it could look at me with its huge green and gold eye. “I get the impression you’re telling the truth.” It seemed to settle. “I suppose you do know what it’s like.” Her mouth widened, revealing fangs the size of my arm. “All the more reason for me to devour you whole. You know what it’s like to steal from people, and yet, you still came here to do the same!”

  As she reared back, jaw unhinging so she could swallow me whole, part of me wanted to give up and let her eat me, but most of me? Most of me was pissed off this was how I was going to die.

  “I want you to remember this moment, Leviathan,” I said, glaring at her as she lunged forward, gobs of saliva spattering across the floor. “Because when the Darkness comes, and it will come, it will take everything you have. Know, that had you acted differently right now, you might have been able to save that which was truly precious to you.”

  16

  “What do you mean?” she hissed, mouth so close to my face I could feel the heat of her breath wash over me as she spoke. “Who would dare steal from me?” Leviathan reared back, fangs glinting in the light as her hooded cobra’s head unfurled. “Tell me!”

  “The Darkness,” I said, still glaring at her. I wasn’t sure what was going on with the archangel, but I was done with this conversation. “Now either eat me, you bat shit crazy fuck, or let me go so I can save everyone and everything.” I tried to nod toward her. “Including you and your stupid gold.”

  “I’m not following,” the massive creature said, and as she spoke, her body reverted back into the diminutive goblin. It happened so suddenly, it actually took me a few minutes to realize it’d happened. One moment she was a giant serpent, and the next, well, she was a winged goblin. “Explain what you mean by Darkness.” She glanced around before peering into a particularly dark corner. “I don’t see anything there.”