The Blackham Mansion Haunting (The Downwinders Book 4) by Michael Richan Page B

was a man, hanging
from the ceiling. He looked long dead, like a mummified corpse.”
    “Just hanging there?” Winn asked.
    “Yeah. He wasn’t hanging from a rope. There was some kind of
substance attached to his head that stretched up to the ceiling.”
    Winn sighed and fell back in his seat. He ran his fingers
through his hair. “Fuck me,” he said. “I’m lost. Do you have any idea what any
of it means?”
    “No, but I think Lorenzo knows,” Deem replied. “I was only
able to talk to him for a minute last night. Carma says it’s a once-a-day
thing, that the book recharges with energy from the moon. I’m hoping we can use
it again tonight to try and contact him.”
    “Actually,” Carma said, “I think the time is at hand.” She
pointed to the box containing the book. A weak glow emanated from its edges,
from under the lid. “I think it wants to talk.”
    Deem rose from her seat and walked to the box. “I’m going to
open it, alright, Carma?”
    Carma and Winn were right behind her, looking over her
shoulder. “Go ahead,” Carma said. “But keep the book down inside the box. Don’t
lift it out.”
    Winn watched as Deem raised the lid. The light emanating from
the page of the book illuminated the interior of the box. Deem twisted the book
sideways, and then opened the cover, turning quickly to the drawing of the
mirror.
    Winn knew Deem had dropped into the River, so he joined her.
He was shocked to see Lorenzo’s image in the mirror, covered in hideous boils.
He felt Carma stiffen next to him as she also saw the disturbing vision.
    Deem! Lorenzo said. You’re still there!
    Yes, I’m here, she replied. With friends.
    I don’t have much time, Lorenzo said. You must come to the house and find
me.
    We’re not going anywhere until you explain a few things, Winn said over Deem’s shoulder.
    There’s not enough time to explain this way, Lorenzo said. The mirror will fade
in a few seconds, we don’t have a strong enough connection yet. I have much to
tell you, but you must come to the house.
    How do we find you? Deem asked.
    Five times out the front door, two out the hallway door, and
nine out the kitchen door. Will you remember?
    Five, two, and nine, Deem repeated. Got it.
    And Deem, if you see something moving in the house, something
that looks like a man but has changed, leave the River immediately, don’t…
    The glow faded and Lorenzo was gone. They dropped from the
flow.
    “Fuck!” Winn said, turning to walk away from the book. “You
can’t get back in touch with him?”
    “Not unless we wait until tomorrow night,” Carma replied.
    Deem closed the book and lowered the lid of the box. Then she
turned to face Carma and Winn. “I say we go there, now. Talk to him. We know
exactly how to reach him.”
    “What was all that about something moving in the house?” Winn
asked. “Something that looked like a man?”
    “I believe that was what trapped me in the room,” Deem
replied. “And I presume it was the thing that attacked David.”
    “Fuck!” Winn said again, angrily.
    “I know you’re upset, Winthrop, but really,” Carma chided.
“Such liberal and unnecessary use of the f-word!”
    “You want to go now?” Winn asked.
    “Yes, now!” Deem replied. “Paragonah is only an hour up the
interstate. I say we go now, find Lorenzo, and have him explain what’s going on
so we can figure out a way to save David.”
    Winn stared back at her. He knew she was right, but he had a
bad feeling about the plan. Everything about Blackham house had been barreling
forward so fast, outside of his control. He hadn’t signed up for it in the
first place, he just found himself roped in to help save Deem and David. He’d
felt the warning in the air when he first entered the place; now they were
about to enter the house again, and delve deeply into it. It bothered him that
Deem didn’t seem to recognize the danger.
    “You don’t want to go?” Deem asked, seeing the reluctance on
his face.
    “No,