The Magician: An Epic Dark Fantasy Novel: Book One of the Rogue Portal Series by Courtney Herz

Author:Courtney Herz
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 2015-03-15T00:00:00+00:00

TWENTY

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Connor arrived at the hotel at eight o'clock in the morning. Upon entering the building he thought for a moment that they'd picked a hotel that was a bit too grandiose for their purposes. The interior was decorated in marble and gold, sapphire accents were visible in the rug, flowers, and chandeliers, and two grand staircases on either side of the reception desk led up to a balcony area that overlooked the nearby forest and lake. The receptionists were dressed in black suits or skirt suits, and the women all seemed to have consulted each other prior to arriving at work as to what hairstyle and makeup they would be wearing.

Connor immediately felt out of place in his jeans and sweatshirt, and the few sideways glances he received were enough to tell him that his beleaguered appearance was noticed, if not entirely unwelcomed. He made a mental note to text Kit, Hazel, and Stuart later and advise them to expect a somewhat unfriendly atmosphere, but then he erased the note, figuring the walk from the foyer to the room couldn't possibly be trying enough to warrant a warning.

Walking up to the receptionist, he gave her his name and she looked for a few too many moments at him, and then, after giving him a thorough once-over, she looked down at her computer with raised eyebrows and began typing.

"Galveston, right?"

"Yes, ma'am," he said, trying to be as professional as possible given the environment.

"For...four people?" Another raised eyebrow.

"Yes. Study group."

"Of course."

More typing.

"You're in room 2026. Here's your key. Make sure the other members of your study group check in, as well."

She paused before she said "study group", and though he resented her tone, he thought better of making a scene in a swanky hotel.

"They will. Thanks."

Taking his room key, he headed left down an expansive corridor, backpack over his shoulder. It was a long walk to the elevator panel, which was in a cutout in the wall that looked like it should have been a room, but had been opened up when the builders realized they had forgotten the lower elevators. The cutout even had doors that could be shut, and this disturbed him slightly.

However, though odd, the elevator cutout was less disturbing than the hallway itself. The more Connor looked down it, the more distorted it seemed to become. Navy blue carpeting that was too thick and was speckled with an eye-bending pattern extended past at least a hundred doors, passing white columns tinged in gold, and lit by ten large chandeliers that threw odd patterns of light onto the walls, making everything seem tilted and scattered.

The attempt at elegance, at least in Connor's opinion, had failed on an epic scale. What it amounted to was a rich person's funhouse full of items that were so ill proportioned to their use they had a creepy yet comic value to them.

Approaching the elevators, he pushed a gold button to call the cab down. Another chandelier hung above him. The elevator chimed in a discordant fashion, and he stepped into a small.

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