Claimed by the Demon Knight: Book One Read Online Free PDF Page A

Tenuxhal’s foot struck the wands thin top half, the length deflecting some of its energy, but it wasn’t enough to keep Rhoads from being thrown back and pushed off balance.
    Tenuxhal was a vicious opponent, a natural fighter, brilliant in hand to hand, relentless in his attacks. Elsi’s defensive abilities had always been strong, but her own forte lay in her speed and brute strength unusual for the human woman, even for a witch of her status, and neither seemed to be enough tonight. The knight had it in spades over Elsi in a dirty street fight, throwing bruising punches and bone breaking kicks at random. He was hard as hell to read, and with more than enough power to back it up and make it hurt so you didn’t forget. Lord knew Elsi had certainly tried to forget.
    Elsi knew she couldn’t win. She wasn’t at the level she needed to be at to take on the demon and actually walk away unscathed, or at all if the ferocity of Tenuxhals attacks were anything to go by. What Elsi lacked in strength without the full use of her Wisp, she made up as much as she could with speed and her familiarity with Tenuxhals fighting style. Avoiding being struck was her biggest concern at the moment.
    She knew the demon would be quick and dangerous, despite his size, and she couldn’t afford to show Tenuxhal just how far she’d regressed. She could only hold her Wisp for about two minutes after the war and she hadn’t trained more than a few times with it since. But she could, if she were careful, release it early before it began to suck her dry of energy, and use it again seconds later. It was a ridiculous way to have to fight, but the technique was her only choice. If Tenuxhal realized how weak she really was, he would drop all of his defenses and focus entirely on the kill. That scenario sent a surge of panic through her. She had her life back and she wanted to keep it.
    Elsi dragged slender fingers down in front of her chest, right below her collarbone and between her cleavage, and formed her Wisp form, encasing herself in the pure light blue light that seemed to melt onto her entire figure. Only her eyes held any detail and remained the same as before.
    A feral grin slowly stretched out across the demons angular face, sharp teeth otherwise hidden behind snarling lips and slit eyes making him look almost rabid with the desire to kill.
    “No one’s around to help you this time, Elsi Rhoads.”
    Elsi’s heart skidded as she was momentarily pinned by that familiar, and haunting predatory look, one that could only come from a very cruel and very dangerous thing.
    Tenuxhal lunged. Elsi tried to block. Blood began to rain in thick droplets onto the street.
    She donned the Wisp again as Tenuxhal appeared above her, just in time to deflect part of an Infernal Tempest before the rest of it engulfed her. It was like being in an oven, hard to breath, as Elsi and a ball of fiery energy plummeted straight into the street, the force of it sending her crashing into the pavement, smelling of singed flesh and fabric.
    ~~~
    T he knight rained down on the witch, landing blow after devastating blow to her face and chest. Elsi felt her Wisp beginning to give and in desperation slashed at the knight’s legs. Tenuxhal dodged but not before the staff ripped through the fabric of his trousers.
    Elsi leapt far back and released her Wisp form. Great. So far she had succeeded in cutting the knights pants to ribbons. Very helpful.
    The knight followed, landing smoothly on three limbs in the crater where Elsi lay panting and struggling to get up, his right arm already raised to deliver a lethal blow to Elsi's body. Elsi rolled, dodging the blow by a hair, and Tenuxhal's fist smashed into the street instead, the skin over tight knuckles splitting apart on impact.. The young woman backed away warily. The knight held his fist up to Elsi, inspecting it with interest, as a single tear of dark blood ran down the back of his hand.
    "Oh look, witch. You finally made me