Claimed by the Demon Knight: Book One by Cryptic Fawn Read Free Book Online Page B

really? With a flick of one wrist, a pitch black oval portal opened silently in front of them, and with captive in hand the demon crossed into the chasm, the emptiness ahead of him inky and black. It closed with no sound.
    Moments later, the only sign of the horrors that had happened there, the only thing left of Elsi Rhoads, was a blood-stained warehouse floor. And most people in the real world would unknowingly walk over it as a new work day began, ignorant of the fact that one of their protectors had fallen, and unaware of the drama that had taken place the night before.
    No. Elsi Rhoads never would have guessed how quickly one demon knight with a monster grudge could just blow her day all to hell.

Five
    N ews of a skirmish between one of the witch guardians of Colorado and a demon knight did not reach the ears of the Heavens higher ranks as it should have.
    The 15th battalion's general, Ahriman, a powerful archangel, leaned forward in front of a large monitor buried in the confines of the Angel Research and Development Edict and made note of the readings. He rested his chin on platinum hands, his thin lips pulling back, expanding wide across abnormally large teeth. Heaven resembled the living world in many ways; for example, the use of technology powered by the massive amounts of spiritual energy so abundant in the Heavenly plane.
    It seemed that a powerful demon had paid a visit to Boulder and quite possibly killed Elsi Rhoads. Well, it saved him the trouble of having to go out and find one himself. Ahriman is far more interested in the beast, not the human woman, anyways. Especially if it had been a knight. But they had all been destroyed. What a pity.
    Regardless, he had acquired more than enough samples to satisfy his wicked interests, the ones he so conveniently justified and disguised under the guise of scientific research to his fellow archangels. And so, he allowed his creepy metallic hands to travel lightly over the control panel and erased the readings as a scratchy laugh snaked its way up from his throat and escaped through his teeth in a wheeze.
    ~~~
    T he minute they arrived in Hell, Tenuxhal teleported back to his quarters in the Black Citadel and discreetly positioned his unconscious captive on his large bed. The last thing he wanted was to accidentally kill her because he had been too rough. For now, anyways.
    Time was an issue here. With every moment that passed in the black portal that acted as a bridge between Hell and the living world, the knight had felt life slowly slipping out of the young witches body.
    He teleported away, towards the medical supply rooms in what was once the medical lab Beelzebub had built for his precious knights, and returned in minutes, hands full of bandages, antiseptics, and whatever other items he thought might be useful. It didn't take him long to acquire the supplies because he knew exactly where everything was. He had spent weeks nursing his own wounds that had been inflicted upon him during the last battle between the two opposing spiritual forces, and had familiarized himself with the supplies.
    He unravelled the pile of bandages and set to work, quickly and efficiently wrapping the witches wounds, the one on her head taking priority. Tenuxhal furrowed his nose in surprise when he got to the filthy business of inspecting the wound. The skin beneath curly brown hair had been scraped clean away from the bone and laydown in a dishevel patch. He peeled the hair and skin back and cleansed away the blood beneath. He could see a few fractures in her skull radiating out from the impact point.
    He studied Elsi's still face intently for a long moment, her eyes that usually sparked the knight's temper, locked away behind closed lids. He supposed he could give the woman a little credit. She probably should be dead.
    ~~~
    T wo goddamn days later and the witch hadn't moved, moaned or twitched even once. Nothing.
    Tenuxhal felt like kicking a puppy.
    This has been as much fun as