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

  THE BUILDER’S PRIDE

  THE LEGENDARY BUILDER BOOK 3

  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

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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

  Thank You for reading!

  Author’s Note

  Litrpg

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  ALSO BY J A. CIPRIANO

  World of Ruul

  Soulstone: Awakening

  Soulstone: The Skeleton King

  Bug Wars

  Doomed Infinity Marine

  The Legendary Builder

  The Builder’s Sword

  The Builder’s Greed

  Elements of Wrath Online

  Ring of Promise

  The Vale of Three Wolves

  Kingdom of Heaven

  The Skull Throne

  Escape From Hell

  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

  “No. Just fucking no,” I said, taking a step backward, one hand going to the hilt of my sword.

  “No?” Lucifer asked, arching one delicate eyebrow at me. “What do you mean no?” The archangel cocked her head to the side before taking a step closer until her bare breasts were practically pressed into my chest. “Why would you refuse my offer, Arthur? Do you not want to defeat the Darkness?”

  “Because you’re the goddamned Devil.” My fingers twitched, anxious to draw my weapon. I knew it wouldn’t do any good though. Lucifer had just destroyed Royal Centre with a wave of her hand and had very nearly smashed Mammon underfoot like a bug. Fighting her would do absolutely nothing, and, she seemed to know that. No, that wasn’t quite true. It seemed to amuse her. Greatly.

  “We’ve been through this,” she said, reaching out and touching my arm. Heat and desire exploded inside me. My knees shook, and a moan escaped my mouth as a wave of pleasure unlike anything I had ever experienced crashed into me. “I do not like being called the Devil.” Her blood red lips quirked into a smile. “Then again, the devil is in the details, is it not?” She playfully walked her fingers up my arm. “They call me Pride, but is it really Pride when you are simply better than all others?”

  I swallowed, trying to get my bearings as she met my eyes. Her perfectly crystalline orbs flickered mischievously. In them, I could see a thousand possibilities, each more indulgent than the last. With her, I could be better than all others. I could crush Dred beneath my heel, push back the Darkness. With her at my side, I would be an unstoppable army unto myself.

  “If you’re so great, why were you sealed beneath a town?” I asked, trying to keep my breath from catching in my throat, I failed miserably.

  “Because I’m too amazing,” she said, pulling her hand away, and the absence of her touch nearly sent me into withdrawals. I wanted her, needed her. My body began to shake, and my stomach clenched as I fought the urge to reach out and touch her myself. No, that wasn’t even quite right. As my knees started to shake, and I started to sweat, the urge to get just one more touch was so overwhelming, I nearly screamed, nearly begged, nearly promised her everything.

  The only thing that saved me was the cold throb of the mark on my neck. Mammon’s power called to me, let me know this was but temporary, an effect of Lucifer’s power. She would never provide what she promised, and what’s more, she couldn’t be trusted. The mark told me all that and more with such absolute certainty that I knew it to be true.

  And the craziest part? I didn’t fucking care.

  “You’re too amazing?” I said, taking a deep breath and shutting my eyes. However, even with them shut, I could still see her in my mind. Her perfect breasts, her dark nipples, her milky skin.

  “Yes,” she said, and in my mind’s eye, her hand slipped into my pants, and the feeling was nearly indescribable. “I am most high. There is nothing the others can do, that I cannot do better. Do you wish for sex, money, or power? All those things are mine to command.” She clucked her tongue. “I can offer you anything you wish, and it will be better than anything else anyone could ever give you.”

  My eyes snapped open to find her still standing there, a bemused smirk on her lips. Her eyes caught mine, and she reached out, taking my hand again. This time it was like coming home and having a cold one after a long day. No, that wasn’t right. It was like getting a fucking fix. All my pain, all my problems vanished into the ether.

  “You wish to defeat the Darkness? Well, I can help you do that, Arthur.” She placed my hand on her bare breast as she spoke. Now, I wouldn’t say I was an expert on the female body, but I’d been around quite a few girls who broke the ten-point scale when it came to beauty. And in that moment when my hand closed around her breast, and her nipple pressed into my palm, I’d have rather touched Lucifer like this than fuck any of them.

  As I looked up at the Devil herself, I realized we could do more. Do so much more that I’d cease to even remember the others. Not only that, but I wouldn’t care.

  A spark of heat niggled in my chest, and the suddenness of it was enough to shock me to my senses. It was Gwen. Somehow, someway, when I�
�d broken my sword Clarent, she’d become bound to me, and now? Now the succubus’s inner spark was protecting me from whatever this was.

  I pulled my hand away, and as I did, I felt the warmth in my chest spread out. It wasn’t a lot, but while that touch of heat, that reminder of how I was tied to Gwen, wasn’t nearly enough to combat the bolt of need and want that hit me like a thunder crack, it was enough to keep me from promising Lucifer anything and everything.

  Disappointment flickered across the Devil’s face. It was so brief, I nearly missed it. Then her lips parted, and she leaned into me, letting me know she was going to kiss me, and it would be absolute fucking Heaven. I also knew that if I let it happen, I’d be done. No, more than that, I’d be her slave.

  “If I help you, we’re going to do things my way,” I said, taking a step backward. It was so hard, I nearly tripped. As it was, my movement barely separated us by a couple inches, but it was enough to stop the Devil in her tracks.

  Her face froze mid-motion, and her eyes opened enough to peer at me through long black lashes. “What are your terms?” The question was surprisingly serious, given her current position.

  “You’re not mad?” I asked, confusion filling me. I’d half-expected to be smote where I stood. After all, this was Lucifer.

  “Everyone always denies me at first.” She licked her lips and straightened before gesturing at herself. “But I am patient, and I have much to offer. You will see that given enough time.” Her eyes crinkled. “But I think you’ve seen enough. No more freebies.” She swept her hand downward. In an instant, she was covered from throat to foot in form-fitting shining red armor. The thing was, it didn’t diminish her beauty even slightly. No, if anything, it was enhanced because it left just enough to the imagination that I was desperate to see underneath. And I’d just seen her naked. It was fucking crazy.

  “Fine, whatever,” I said, trying to regain myself. It was hard because nearly everything in me wanted to leap on her, to throw her down and tear the armor from her body. Even worse, I knew she’d let me, that she wanted me to do it. “Stop.”

  “Stop what?” she asked coyly. “I am just standing here.”

  “You are hardly standing there,” I said, staring up at the sky, and that was when I realized it wasn’t stormy above. Normally the horizon was nothing but an endless storm cloud of crackling lightning. Only, it wasn’t now. No, now it was a flat black sky filled with twinkling stars, reminding me of when I’d gone camping on the outskirts and could really see all the stars. How was that possible?

  “It is beautiful isn’t it,” Lucifer said, moving next to me and pointing upward. “I do so enjoy the stars. They were always my favorite creations.” She stuck her tongue out. “Not like man, with his breath and sweat.” She snorted. “How I hate sweat.”

  “You’re throwing a lot of mixed signals at me,” I said, glancing at her.

  “Oh, I don’t mean you,” she said, turning to look at me and giving me a once over. “I fixed that breath problem a long time ago.” She quirked a smile at me. “Gave your whole race a breath mint.” She scrunched up her nose. “Doesn’t solve the sweat thing though.”

  “Are you talking about what I think you’re talking about?” I asked, wondering if she was talking about the apple and Adam and Eve. I ran a hand through my hair, and as I did, I realized I no longer felt the crazy attraction to her I had before. No, whatever spell or magic or force of will she’d been using before was gone.

  “Perhaps,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest. “Now tell me, Arthur. What can I offer you?” She sidled toward me, all lithe movement and sinewy grace. “I really want to know.”

  “Just like that?” I asked, gesturing at her. “What the fuck is going on with you?”

  “Nothing is going on with me.” She shrugged. “I want to help you, and I think you owe it to yourself to find out just how much I can offer you.” She smiled. “Tell me what you want, Arthur.”

  “Oh,” I said. I had no idea what I wanted from her other than to go away. Dealing with Mammon, the Archangel of Greed, had been difficult enough, and Lucifer? Well, that was way out of my league because every word felt like a trap. What I needed was Mammon. She’d be able to help with this.

  “You don’t know what to ask for, do you?” Lucifer asked with a laugh that would have summoned small forest creatures if we were in a Disney movie. “How cute.”

  “Great, the Devil thinks I’m cute.” I shook my head. “You really know how to kick a guy in his pride.”

  “Yes. You might say it’s my specialty.” Lucifer met my eyes. “I wish for you to retrieve my hammer. It was lost to me when I was bound beneath this city. I can feel it, can lead you to it, but I cannot retrieve it.”

  “Your hammer?” I said, confused. “What do you mean a hammer?”

  “All archangels have a unique weapon specifically created for us.” Her gaze intensified, and for a second, I got the impression she could not only read my mind and see all my memories, but she could see all of my soul. “Like Samael’s scythe and Gabriella’s mace, I too have a special weapon, but it was long ago lost to me. I would just like for you to find it so I may help you confront the Darkness.” She gave me a conciliatory look. “I know it sounds silly, but all I want is to help you, Arthur, and I will gladly help you in exchange for the chance to fight at your side. All you have to do is tell me what you want. I will make it so.”

  “I won’t finalize any deals without Mammon and Buffy,” I paused, and when she gestured for me to go on, I continued, “But I’d definitely want your Armament, and help with getting the others.”

  “Well then, that sounds fair.” She smiled at me, and I couldn’t help but feel like I’d been suckered. “Let us find Mammon.”

  “Well, she’s back in the town.” I turned to look at the gateway but found it had closed. That was no good. It’d take a while for the residual energy to recharge enough for us to use it. An hour or two at the least.

  “Then we shall go to your town.” She held out her hand to me as her wings extended from her back. They were huge, spreading out a good ten feet on either side. They were jet black for the most part, but every so often a feather would glitter like it was made from spun gold. “Ready to ride with the Devil?” Her lips curled into a smile. “Or would you rather run?”

  2

  The trip back to the Graveyard was awkward because I could feel Lucifer’s breasts pressing into my back the whole way. Every time I tried to move to create some space, her arms would wrap tighter around me like some kind of Chinese finger trap until the entire length of my back was practically molded to her chest.

  “Why do you fidget so much?” she asked, breath hot on my neck as we neared the gates. “If you keep it up, I might drop you.” She intertwined her legs around mine. “And we wouldn’t want that.”

  “I’m just not used to sharing my personal space so much,” I said, taking a deep breath, but all I could smell was her. It was like inhaling desire, desperation, and cheap mints.

  “Oh, am I making you uncomfortable?” she cooed, tongue flicking my earlobe as she spoke. “Do we need to take a minute so we can blow off some steam?”

  “No,” I said as we stopped just before the city. It was strange because I’d expected her to just land in the middle of the town, but I quickly realized why she hadn’t. During my absence, they’d erected an energy barrier similar to the one Lustnor had. Only the sigils were different on this one, and even from here, I could feel their energy focused on keeping her out.

  “Mammon,” Lucifer hissed, one hand jerking out to point at the magical barrier encompassing the Graveyard of Statues.

  “Mammon?” I asked, feeling slightly uncomfortable as Lucifer held me in the air one-handed. “What did she do?”

  “Maybe it wasn’t her,” Lucifer mused, her wings beating the air as she arced around so she could drop us to the ground just in front of the gates. “This would cost a lot of energy to do, and she wouldn’t have it after healing Sam
ael.” Lucifer inhaled sharply as we touched down. Then her eyes narrowed. “What is this?” She turned to look at me, and fear exploded through me.

  Before I knew what I was doing, I had my sword out. If it bothered her, it didn’t show because she kept staring at me like I’d pissed in her oatmeal.

  “You have an archangel here,” Lucifer said, taking a step forward. “Which one?”