The Magician: An Epic Dark Fantasy Novel: Book One of the Rogue Portal Series Read Online Free

wouldn't ordinarily allow it.
                  "So Stuart, where you from?"
                  Stuart looked at him with a hesitant gaze and smiled. "Oregon."
                  "Oh, nice, what part?"
                  "Grants Pass."
                  "Oh, that's a beautiful area. At least it was - I've only been there once. When I was a kid."
                  "Oh yeah? It is beautiful there. Yes. Boring when you live there, though, sometimes."
                  They  both laughed.
                  "You have family around here, or did you come down here by yourself?"
                  Stuart's face darkened under the passing shadow of a thousand best-forgotten memories. He cast his gaze to the floor. The wall. Then met Connor's once more.
                  "I don't have family anywhere anymore. My folks, um. They were killed. Car crash. About five years ago. Been living with my friend, and he got married, so it was a little...awkward to stay there. So. When I got accepted to college here, I decided to move into the dorms."
                  Connor felt instantly connected to Stuart's past.
                  "Wow, I'm sorry, I didn't..."
                  "No, no, it's okay." Stuart was quick to paste the smile back on his face and move on.
                  "My um...my dad killed himself right after I was born, and my mom's been...well the depression has kind of..."
                  Tears threatened to expose the pain he'd been hiding. He hadn't imagined it would be so difficult to talk about his father. But then again he never had before. Not to anyone. He couldn't discuss his father with his mother, and he couldn't discuss her with anyone else. So his fractured pain had been kept half-alive, just below the surface.
                  "So you understand, then."  Stuart's eyes were compassionate. Friendly. Connor immediately trusted him, which was a rare thing, and he decided that having a roommate might not be so bad. Loneliness, after all, is a poor companion for a wandering mind. And a dangerous one.
                  Stuart reached into his box and started to unpack, and Connor followed suit. 
                  "Well. I'm glad you're my roommate," Stuart continued. "You seem like a decent person."
                  "Thanks. You, too."
                  Connor reached into a box and his hand met a cold, metallic object. His heart skipped a beat. 
                  "What's that?" Stuart asked.
                  "Trinket from another life, I guess. It was with my dad's stuff in the attic. I wanted something of his, you know. Take with me."
                  "I understand that," Stuart said, reaching into a box of his own and pulling out a pair of glasses.
                  "Those your dad's?"
                  "Yes. And I have my mom's necklace. I keep them with me all the time. Just to....well, you know." His voice trailed off.
                  "Yeah. I know."
                  Connor flipped the pocket watch open and noted the time had been set to twelve o'clock. His brow furrowed.
                  "What's wrong?" Stuart asked.
                  "Nothing. Just...the watch is set to twelve o'clock, straight up. Which I suppose doesn't mean anything. It just seems...weird."
                  "It does. I mean the last time my watch stopped working it was at a random time."
                  "Exactly." Connor shrugged. "Ah, I'm just overthinking it. I'll set it later." Stuart smiled, and Connor set the open pocket watch on the desk. The room contained just one desk, but it was large enough (or the room was small enough) that it gave each of them the opportunity to use one side of it as a nightstand, while still