Read The Hidden Realm: Book 04 - Ennodius for Free Online Page A

debating with himself, Elerian felt a sudden chill, as if a shadow had fallen over him, cutting off the warm rays of the sun. Looking up, he was startled to see what appeared to be a window into a dim, red-lit room floating barely an arm's length away in the air above him. Looking down at him through the opening was a pale, cruel face with dark, pitiless eyes. An intricate crown of black iron set with blood red rubies crowned the Goblin’s pale brow and dark locks. His right hand was raised almost to the level of his face as if arrested in the act of reaching out to grasp something. The curved, black painted nails on the ends of the Uruc’s long, strong fingers gleamed, reflecting the red mage lights that illuminated the room behind the Goblin.
    Had Elerian displayed the slightest sign of fear or confusion, Torquatus might still have attempted to draw him through the portal, but he saw only anger in Elerian’s clear gray eyes. Even without the crown the Goblin wore, Elerian would have recognized Torquatus at once, for the Goblin king’s malevolent features were indelibly imprinted into his memory. The sight of the creature who had hounded him for most of his life and who was ultimately responsible for the deaths of Balbus and Tullius drove every emotion except the desire for revenge from Elerian’s mind. Without hesitation, he reached over his right shoulder with his right hand for the sword resting in the sheath draped across his back.
    An amused smile played about the thin lips of the Goblin king, revealing white, cruelly pointed teeth.
    “Another time then,” he said softly as Elerian’s sword cleared its sheath, the polished blade gleaming in the bright sunlight.
    Even as Elerian brought his sword down in a glittering arc to cleave his enemy’s skull, the image of Torquatus abruptly vanished. The rasp of Elerian's sword being drawn from its sheath had instantly drawn Ascilius’s attention. The Dwarf tightened his grip on the handle of his ax with his right hand when he looked up and saw the sneering visage of Torquatus an instant before it disappeared ahead of the downward stroke of Elerian’s sword. Ascilius reined in his mare as Enias stopped at Elerian’s silent command.
    “Was that Torquatus or an illusion?” the Dwarf asked in a bewildered tone.
    “It was the Goblin King,” said Elerian grimly as he first examined the air above him and then the edge of his sword. He was disappointed to note that there was no trace of blood on the bright blade.
    “How do you suppose he found us, Ascilius?” asked Elerian in a puzzled voice. “We are no more than two insignificant specks traveling across these wide plains.”
    “It was not common knowledge among the Tarsi that I planned to return to Ennodius,” replied Ascilius, “but neither was it any close secret. Word of my intention to return to Ennodius may have reached the wrong ears. If the traitor among the Tarsi somehow informed Torquatus that we had left the War Camp, he had only to explore the paths that lead to Ennodius until he found us. I should have been more cautious about revealing my plans for the future.”
    At the mention of the word traitor, Elerian thought at once of Merula. Was the Tarsi so far gone down the path of treachery that he would treat with Torquatus?
    “Let this serve as a lesson to both of us to be more close mouthed,” said Elerian as he silently urged Enias to move on. Ascilius’s mare followed the stallion without any prompting from the Dwarf.
    “How did he appear in the air above us,” asked Ascilius after a moment.
    “A powerful mage such as Torquatus can open large portals or gates to other places,” replied Elerian.
    “If that is true, why did he not blast us with a spell before you were aware of him?” asked Ascilius in a baffled voice.
    “A spell will not travel through a portal,” explained Elerian. “If Torquatus is to harm us magically, he must first pull us into his space. Before I drew my sword, his hand