The Builder's Throne

by J. A. Cipriano

  I took a deep breath, and as I exhaled, the General swung again. This time his fist clipped Dred’s shoulder. The blow shattered Dred’s ethereal armor as he spun backward like a top. As the General raised his fist to end the fight, I rushed forward. Caliburn lashed through the air, spearing the General through the side as he moved to deliver the coup de grâce to Dred.

  My sword pierced him through the side, spilling dark blood across the ground, and as it did, he turned his eyes toward me.

  “Hurts, doesn’t it?” I asked, right before I drove my elbow into his nose. The blow shattered his face, ripping him off my blade and spilling whatever insides the fucker had across the sand at our feet. “Cause, if I’m being totally honest. I really enjoyed it.”

  I brought Caliburn around to finish the General off, but before I could, the breach exploded into a whirlpool of color that sucked both him and Dred back inside.

  16

  “First things first,” I said as I stood on the battlefield and stared at my people. Now, that the General had vanished back to whence he’d come, they’d started to move again. “We need to make sure you don’t all turn into statues when those guys come through again.”

  “I… I just couldn’t move,” Michelle said, taking a deep breath as she managed to push herself into a sitting position. Her face had gone pale, and sweat dripped down her cheeks as she wiped her forehead with the back of one hand. “It didn’t happen last time.”

  “Yeah, it’s because you’re too weak from helping Takumi and losing your weapon.” I sighed. “Without your sword, you lost the buff that increased your stats.” I waved off my train of thought. “Even still, that just means you’d have been able to move.” I gestured at the angels and demons who were only now recovering. “They’d all be down for the count.” I shook my head. “That’s no good.”

  “You make an excellent point,” Michelle said through gritted teeth before hoisting herself to her feet. “But what can we do?” She looked me up and down. “You seem like you have an idea.”

  “I do, but I don’t know if it will work.” I began flipping through her abilities, but so far, nothing I’d found seemed helpful. I’d hoped I could find an ability she could learn to counteract the debuff, but she just didn’t have anything like that.

  “What is it?” She came toward me, and as she put her hand on my shoulder, I realized she was trembling. “Please.”

  “I think we nickel and dime this bitch.” I pointed to the horizon. “Just now when I fought him, I had the added benefit of Gabriella’s armament reacting to all of you. It boosted my power by ten percent for the hundred or so of you.” I gestured at all the angels and demons who had been fighting side by side. “That’s why I could take him down, and that’s what we need to do.”

  “Wait …” Michelle swallowed. Hard. “You mean to tell me that your power was boosted that much, and you didn’t crush him like a gnat?”

  “Yeah, because his power also boosted his strength.” I made a fist. “Next time, that won’t be the case.”

  “Well, that makes me feel a little better.” Michelle looked at me. “So, how do you plan to ‘nickel and dime this bitch’ and stop it from happening again?”

  I spun on my heel and began walking toward town. “Easy. We get Annabeth to make a bunch of sculptures. We get the wardsmiths to etch protection wards into every cobblestone. In short, we make this city a bastion of power that allows those within it to stand against the Darkness.”

  “I should recall the knights as well.” Michelle looked at me. “They’re in Hell right now helping Mammon and Sathanus to prepare, but perhaps we should have them here.”

  “Let’s hold off on that.” I turned to look at Michelle. Her lips were trembling, and her eyes were filled with fear. She was scared like never before. “It’s going to be okay.”

  “How is it going to be okay?” she asked, holding up the remains of her whip-sword. “I’ve lost my weapon, and the enemy seems impossibly strong.”

  I took a step forward and pulled her into a hug. “Michelle, I won’t let anything happen to you or to the others. Trust me.”

  “I do trust you,” she said, leaning into me. “I will rally the artisans to create what you ask.”

  “Good.” I nodded to her as she stepped away. “Now, I have to go make some very bad decisions.”

  “What do you mean?” she asked, raising an eyebrow at me.

  “Well …” I looked at my shoes. “I’m going to find Jophiel and ask her about the key. Then I’m going to find Dred and get him to tell me about the Generals. I don’t know if you were aware enough to see what happened, but Dred clearly knew Ten.”

  “Ten?” Michelle asked, raising an eyebrow. “Who is Ten?”

  “That’s what Dred called the General. I’m assuming it’s a name.” I shrugged. “Either way, Dred might know more, and right now, we need all the help we can get.”

  “You can’t trust Dred.” Michelle shook her head. “He has joined with the Darkness.”

  “I dunno.” I shrugged. “He seemed pretty anti-Darkness back there.” I reached into my pocket and pulled out the key before holding it out to her. “This is what he was after. Keep it safe.”

  She looked at the key for a long while then reached out to take it. As her fingers touched it, the metal began to glow violently, and she snatched her hand back as the smell of sizzling meat filled the air.

  “Ow!” she snarled, putting her finger in her mouth and sucking on it. “Damned thing burned me.”

  “It did, didn’t it?” I stared down at the key in confusion. Before it had looked nondescript, but now it didn’t. Now symbols were etched across its surface. Not just any symbols either. These were the same symbols that adorned my body. The marks of the seven Archangels of Hell.

  Taking a deep breath, I opened the stat window for the key and found more information before because now the key had a single enchantment listed.

  Key of Torment

  Type: key

  Durability: 350/475

  Enchantments: Hell’s Breach

  Peering closer, I opened the enchantment and quickly scanned the text.

  Hell’s Breach – Can be used by an Archangel of Hell to unlock the Seal of Torment. Cannot be used by an Archangel of Heaven.

  “Well, that explains that.” I looked up from the key. “Only an Archangel of Hell can use it.”

  “Hmm…” Michelle said, peering closer at the key, and just her moving toward it caused it to spark in my palm. “It seems so familiar, but I can’t tell you why. Like when I look at it, I feel a blank space where information was supposed to be.” She met my eyes. “I think you should take it to Lucifer.”

  It was weird because while I’d planned on doing just that, her words made me wonder about something else. Raphael, who knew fucking everything, didn’t have a clue about the Generals and neither had her archive. What’s more, none of the Archangels in Heaven or Hell had either. What if that was by design? What if there was something that was keeping them from knowing?

  “Say, Michelle, do you know if there’s a similar key? A heavenly one?” As the words left my lips, she shook her head.

  “No.” She frowned. “I feel like I should, but I don’t.”

  “It’s fine.” I sighed, pocketing the key once more. “Why don’t you go get the artisans for Heaven and Hell warding the crap out of this place? I’m gonna go talk to Lucifer before I try to find Jophiel.”

  “Sure.” She looked right at me. “But be careful.” She gave me a smile. “Lucifer is still pretty pissed over getting her ass kicked.”

  17

  Going to Hell after being in Heaven always felt a little weird, and this time was no different. The air was sticky and wet, and as I inhaled, I felt it stick to me, plastering my clothes to my body. Overhead, the skies roiled as lightning flashed across the horizon. As I stared at it, I knew Lucifer was pissed since Hell always seemed to mirror her mood.

  Still, that was something I’d just have to dea
l with. I’d needed to teach her a lesson, to stop underestimating me, and from the look of things, it’d worked. Everyone was hustling, throwing themselves into their work in a way that let me know the Devil had laid down the law. That was good because we’d need everyone to pull it together.

  As I left the Heavenly ferry and stepped onto the cobblestones of the Graveyard of Statues, I found myself in an oddly good mood. I knew I wasn’t quite strong enough to face off against the Generals, but I felt like I was getting closer to it. The last two times I’d fought Ten I’d managed to not only keep from getting killed but actually won the day.

  I reached into my pocket and pulled out the key as I made my way toward Lucifer’s house. I wasn’t sure why, but I knew this key had to open something important. Otherwise, Dred wouldn’t want it. That just left me with one niggling question besides “what the fuck did it open?” and that was “why did Dred want it?”

  After all, Belial was dead. He had no Archangels to use the key. Then again, maybe he didn’t know?

  “You have a lot of nerve coming here,” Lucifer said, looking up at me as I stepped into her home. She was sitting at a table, long dark hair falling over her face and splashing across the table as she studied what looked like a map of trade routes. Both Mammon, the Archangel of Greed, and Buffy, our resident leader of all things merchant, were sitting beside her.

  “Why is that?” I asked, raising my eyebrow as I approached. “Surely you’re not still mad at me for beating you up?”

  “I am, actually.” Lucifer stood, and as she did, the other girls looked like they wanted to be anywhere else. She stepped away from the table, and that’s when I realized she was naked. Her hair covered everything of interest, but as she moved, I realized her body was still battered and bruised in a way it shouldn’t have been. She should have healed by now. Only, she hadn’t.

  “Why aren’t you wearing clothes?” I asked as she brushed her long hair behind one ear, causing her hair to shift enough it to reveal her dark nipple to me. “And why haven’t you healed?”

  “You destroyed my armor, and we’ve not had the resources to remake it yet.” She met my eyes, and there was so much hatred in them it actually made me take a step backward. “Buffy and Mammon were just here to measure me, and then we got to talking about materials, but apparently there are no smiths actually good enough to craft it, even if we had enough Stygian Iron.” She snorted. “Not that it matters.” She bowed her head. “You defeated me handily. What good is armor?”

  “You should still dress.” I nodded to her.

  “Why? Is my form displeasing to you?” She swept a hand back toward Buffy and Mammon. “Of the three of us, I am the only one who has yet to fuck you. Is that why you wish me dressed?”

  “No.” I shook my head. “I want you dressed because you’re fucking distracting, and I came to talk to you about something important.”

  “Oh.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “Mammon, Buffy, please leave. The Builder wishes to discuss something important.” She raised an eyebrow at me. “Unless you wish them to stay?”

  “No. It’s fine. I’m sure they’re both busy.” As I spoke, Buffy gave me a grateful nod, and Mammon mouthed a quick “thank you.”

  Lucifer watched as the two women scurried out of the room, leaving us in uncomfortable silence.

  “You wouldn’t have understood otherwise,” I said, and the Devil held up her hand.

  “I know.” She bit her lip. “That’s what angers me most. Not that I was weak when confronted by your power, but because I forced you to beat me so handily. I already knew it in my head. After all, Dred defeated me, and you’re far stronger than he was then.” She bit her lip and looked away. “I should have trusted you, Arthur, and I didn’t. I felt I knew best.” She touched her chest. “It’s my damned pride.”

  “Well, that’s sort of your shtick, right?” I smiled. “And I’m glad you’re okay. Though, shouldn’t you have been healed by now?”

  “Yes.” She nodded. “I should be healed.” She touched one of the bruises. “I am not, though.”

  “You don’t seem concerned.” I looked her up and down. “Why?”

  “Why have you come here, Arthur?” she took a step backward before spinning and sitting in her chair which gave me an incredible view of her assets. “I doubt it is to inquire about my health. You have people for that.”

  “You make it seem like I don’t care,” I said, annoyed.

  “I know you care, Arthur.” She sighed. “But you’re busy, so just tell me what you came to discuss. I am also busy.”

  “You know, my old boss always said that if you had time to drop everything and discuss something with your boss, you weren’t busy enough.” I smiled, thinking back to the memory. It seemed like so damned long ago I’d been a Slurpee monkey.

  “No.” She shook her head. “It shows respect. I assume you know I am busy, that we are all busy. Yet you chose to come disturb me anyway, which means you think you know a better use of my time, and as my leader, I owe it to you to trust that you do.” She smiled slightly. “Unless this is a social call?” Her fingers danced up her bare thigh before coming to rest just below her crotch. “In which case, you also have people for that.”

  “Have you seen this before?” I said, not rising to her bait as I held out the key to her.

  Lucifer’s gaze flicked to it for a second. “No.”

  “Really?” I asked, unable to hide my disappointment.

  “Really.” She nodded. “What is it?”

  “The Key of Torment. I rescued it from the Darkness, and it can only be used by an Archangel of Hell. When Michelle touched it, the damn thing nearly burned her finger off.”

  “Ah.” Lucifer stood and came toward me, all sensuous movement. “Let me see it then.”

  “Sure.” I handed her the key, and this time when she touched it, a dialog box appeared over her head. Quickly opening it, I found myself staring at a new tooltip.

  This item can be used to start the quest The Seal of Torment. Would you like the Archangel to begin the quest? Please note, this quest will fail if the Archangel is killed.

  “What do you see?” Lucifer asked, bringing my attention back to her. “You have that ‘I’m reading text’ look.” She pointed at my face with the key. “Your eyes are moving back and forth.”

  “The item is starting a quest.” I scrunched up my face in confusion. “But it doesn’t give me any more information than that.”

  “Hmm.” Lucifer stared at the key, and as she did, all of the marks began to glow, flaring with light. “I can feel the power within it unlike any I have felt before, yet at the same time it is strangely familiar.” She looked to me. “Do you wish me to accompany you on this quest?”

  “Yes, but I don’t know where to go.” I bit my lip, thinking. I still wanted to talk to Jophiel and Dred both, plus, with Lucifer hurt, the last thing I wanted to do was drag her on a quest. Sure, even in her current state, she was much more powerful than the rest of the archangels, but it would be better to do it after she healed.

  “That I cannot help you with.” Lucifer sighed. “So, I’m not sure what you wish me to do.”

  “Keep the key safe until you’re healed, then we’ll do the quest.” I nodded. “That will give me time to find Jophiel and find out more about the Generals.”

  “You do not need to find Jophiel.” Lucifer smirked as her fingers closed around the key. “She will find you.”

  18

  I had no idea where Jophiel was, but last time I was in the shower she appeared, so why not start there? And lo and behold, the moment the warm spray hit me, the angel wrapped her hands around my naked body.

  “We have to stop meeting like this,” I said as her nails raked up my chest, sending shivers of pleasure running down my spine.

  “There’s something about seeing you wet that I quite like,” the angel cooed in my ear, her breath hot on my throat as water splashed down on us.

  “Is that so?” I asked, turn
ing in her grasp and looked down at her naked body. Jophiel, like the rest of the angels, was beautiful, but there was something distinctly alluring about her in a way I couldn’t quite articulate. She was fire, and I knew that she’d burn me to a crisp. Even still, I couldn’t help wanting her.

  “Yes.” Her eyes looked me over unabashedly. “I am not one for games. When I see what I like, I move to get it.” She nodded at me. “You are similar, no?”

  Her words brought me back to a conversation I’d had with Uriel. The Archangel of Forgiveness had insisted that I wasn’t forceful enough to take what I wanted. I’d proven her wrong, but now that I stared at Jophiel, I wondered if she felt similarly. Hell, did they all feel similarly? Was that why Lucifer had treated me like a little kid before I’d beaten her to a bloody pulp?

  I wasn’t sure, but I couldn’t have that now.

  “Yes.” I looked at her as she stood there, water cascading off her full breasts, and for a moment, I wondered if she’d stood just where she had for maximum effect. It was strange because I’d not have put it past her.

  “So, what do you want?” she arched an eyebrow at me as her hands fell to her sides in a sweeping gesture that caused my eyes to roam over her substantial assets.

  “To drive my enemies before me and hear the lamentations of their women.” I nodded to her.

  “You want to hear their lamentations?” she asked, arching an eyebrow as she stepped forward and grabbed little me, who wasn’t quite so little right now. “Wouldn’t you rather hear their cries of pleasure as you put them to the task?”

  “Well, now that you say it like that …” I mumbled, a whole host of visions playing through my head. “I quite like that idea, too.”

  “I thought you might,” she said, taking another step closer to me, so her breasts pressed against my chest. “That is what I offer you, Arthur. All of it. Everything. Complete and utter power.” She stood on her tippy toes, and her lips brushed against mine. “Does that sound appealing to you?”