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

was raised as if he meant to seize me. Something made him hesitate, however.”
    “It is likely that caution made him falter,” replied Ascilius. “He knows your strength and mine. Had he laid hold of you, he would have had no easy time pulling you through his portal if you resisted him. Together, we might even have drawn him out into the sunlight where he would have been severely weakened.” Ascilius’s dark eyes flashed at the thought of having Torquatus within reach of his ax.
    “His action smacks of impatience,” continued Ascilius. “Hatred for the both of us no doubt clouded his mind. Had he exercised some restraint, he might have come upon us when we were asleep and dragged one or both of us through his portal before we were even aware of him.”
    “We must be wary of further attacks, then,” said Elerian grimly, “as if we did not already face enough danger from the dragon.”
    “I doubt that Torquatus will confront us again directly if he can help it,” said Ascilius thoughtfully. “There is no need for him to risk his own life when he has so many servants who will do his bidding without question.”
    “Since we cannot alter our route to escape him, I will keep an eye out for him just the same, especially at night when he is at the height of his power,” replied Elerian
    Ascilius lapsed back into his former silence, and Elerian, too, was quiet, for he had much to think about. He was in need of a spell that would shield Ascilius and himself from the eyes of Torquatus, but none came to mind because of the Goblin King’s magical third eye. Any sort of concealment spell he cast would be visible to the eyes of the Goblin king, especially at night. Now, more than ever, Elerian longed to be under a forest canopy where he and Ascilius would be shielded from unfriendly eyes without the need of magic.
    “Well then, I must do the best that I can,” thought Elerian to himself. He turned to Ascilius and said, “I am going to use my ring to make us invisible. We will be hard to detect as long as the sun is high in the sky, but we will not be able to travel at night, for Torquatus will see the golden light of the ring’s invisibility spell from a long way off with his mage sight.”
    “Do what you think is best,” replied Ascilius with an uncharacteristic lack of interest. He sounded rather discouraged to Elerian, as if the thought that they might have to deal with the dragon and the Goblin King at the same time had convinced him that they no longer had any real hope of reaching Ennodius.
    Ignoring his companion’s dark mood, Elerian called the silver ring which he had found in Nefandus to his right hand. His mastery of the ring had grown since he first found it, to the extent that he no longer needed to touch something to make it invisible. Effortlessly, he extended the cloak of invisibility which flowed from the ring until it covered himself, Ascilius, and the two horses.
    Hidden from mortal sight, the two companions continued to ride into the north, leaving no more sign of their passage than the east wind blowing invisibly across the plains. Hence, when Anthea looked in her portal later that day, she saw no sign of them.
     In far away Ossarium, Torquatus retired to his throne directly after his encounter with Elerian, sinuously sinking his lean frame into the black satin pillows that padded its stony contours. A slight smile still twisted his thin lips, but his eyes were dark and cold as the polished basalt walls of his throne room.
    “Perhaps it was all for the best,” he thought to himself. “Patience will serve me best. Rather than risk my own life, I will dispatch my servants to slay or capture the half-blood and his misshapen companion at no hazard to myself. They cannot evade me now that I know the route they follow. In the unlikely event that they manage to escape my minions, they will still have to face the dragon that has made Ennodius its lair. There is no way they can approach the city