I’ll be going on a wild and crazy ride of a blog tour in two weeks, but wanted to get a little sample from Elven Blood out early.  You can download the beginning of the book for free on Amazon, so this bit is from further in.  Enjoy!

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The hiss of Wyatt’s shower penetrated through the fog of my pre-caffeinated brain. I was still sprawled on the bed, hidden under a heap of covers, wondering whether I could sneak in a few more minutes of sleep. It was rent day, and I was already late in making my collection rounds. Stretching, I poked my head from under the blanket and watched a small lizard cross the floor. It had a scorpion tail, pointed ears and crimson eyes that darted intelligently across the room. Those red eyes locked onto the bed just as I realized this wasn’t a lizard. It was a demon—and not the usual Low one either.

There was a flash, and I rolled across the bed and onto the floor just before the mattress sliced into two smoking sections. Unfortunately I was trapped in a tangle of sheets. Instinctively I converted my form, deconstructing my usual human one into basic atoms and re-assembling into a creature that was small and hard to kill.

I heard a muffled curse, and felt the sheets snatched from above me. The demon was no longer a lizard; he was bipedal with furry, clawed legs and a scaled torso. Arms hung down past his knees, ending in sharp hooks. His head twisted and turned, forked tongue tasting the air as he searched for me.

I held my energy tight inside and scuttled into a dusty refuge under the bed. He stomped around the room, kicking a chair and sweeping the alarm clock from the dresser. It clattered to the floor and bounced, coming within inches of my hiding place. I was safe. He’d never find me. Eventually he’d just give up and go away.

We heard it at the same time. The hiss of Wyatt’s shower, the thump of a dropped shampoo bottle. The demon’s head turned. No. Not Wyatt. No!

Two steps and I was on him—transformed from cockroach back to human as I emerged from under the bed. Hooked hands dug into my thighs and our momentum smacked his head into the drywall.

“Sam?