The Blackham Mansion Haunting (The Downwinders Book 4) (17 page)

“Then we need to get this done before that happens,” Winn
replied.

Winn carried the cinderblock into the house and set it beside
the front door, just inside the entryway. Then he took two metal straps and
fitted them through the brick, nailing the straps to the floor. He hoped the
old, rotted wood would hang on long enough to help secure the blocks in place.
Then he rose and walked to the hallway door, where Deem had already placed a
second cinderblock. He could hear her dropping the third one in the kitchen.

Once he’d secured the other two, he joined her in the living
room. “I think this room’s best, don’t you?” he asked her. “We’ll be able to
see from two different directions, the kitchen door that leads into the séance
room, and the hallway from the stairs that leads into the front entryway. We
can catch it coming from either side, and we won’t be trapped.”

“Sure,” Deem said. “Makes sense.” She was studying the notes
on her phone, memorizing the two paths Lorenzo had relayed to her.

“You got them down?” Winn asked.

“I think so,” she replied, pocketing the phone. “They’re both
deep. One’s seventeen houses in, the other is eighteen.”

“Great,” Winn replied. “I suppose we have the idle youth of
Paragonah to thank for all these duplicates.”

“Probably,” Deem said, sitting on the floor. “All it took was
someone coming in here and falling asleep on a dare. Each generation tries it,
not believing anything an older generation might say about the place, and
assuming the stories of the Creepsis are all made up.”

“The town should just bulldoze the place,” Winn replied.
“Once we’re done.”

“I doubt they ever will. It’s so far out of town, and there’s
no development around. They’re not going to pay money to demolish it when they
can just leave it here to rot. Besides, the land is owned by someone.”

Winn sat down next to Deem, cross-legged on the floor. He
turned off his flashlight, and the room became dark. He looked at her, seeing
her figure just inches away. “You ready?”

“Follow me,” she said, and dropped into the River.

She led him through the houses in quick succession; five
times, then twice through the hallway door, following a similar pattern they’d
used to find Lorenzo. They turned in the kitchen and used that exit to pass
through the house eight more times. Winn marveled again at how the house
improved in condition with each iteration, but he had no time to stop and
absorb details; Deem was moving fast.

As they entered the ninth front entryway, Deem stopped.
If
we were to go to the kitchen, we should find Lorenzo in the next house,
she
whispered.

Should we go talk to him?
Winn asked.

The route he gave me calls for using the hallway door,
Deem said.
We can socialize with
Lorenzo after this is over.

Winn followed as Deem led the way to the hallway. They walked
quickly but quietly, not wanting to create any noise that might alert the
Creepsis to their presence. The hallways were now fully furnished with an
elegant carpet and dark wallpaper, and the sound of their footsteps seemed
muffled compared to the creaking of the older versions of the house. Winn found
himself turning to look behind him frequently, afraid it might be silently
following them.

OK,
Deem said as they approached the exterior door.
Let’s see if this was
Jacob’s house.

She pulled the door open, revealing another kitchen. There
was no cinderblock on the ground, and it was fully furnished. Winn watched as
she stepped through, and then he followed. It seemed exactly like the house
they’d just left.

We’ve got to find his body,
Deem said.
It’s got to be in here somewhere.

They passed through the kitchen and into the central room.
The séance table sat with its elegant covering, ready for use by the Spiritualists.
Past the table and into the living room, then through the front entryway and to
the parlor — each room was empty and silent.

As they approached the junction where the lower hallway
turned to the left and the landing for the stairs turned to the right, Deem
went for the stairs and Winn started down the hallway. When Deem saw he wasn’t
behind her, she stopped.

No separating!
she whispered.
Not this time!

Winn stopped and rejoined her.
That’s how she lost David,
he thought.
I don’t blame her.

They walked up the stairs and began searching the rooms. They
came up empty until they reached the master bedroom. Inside was a body hanging
from the ceiling, its musty clothes holding together the bones of the long-dead
victim.

He liked to hang them here for some reason,
Deem said.

That’ll help when we collapse the house,
Winn replied.
If he really can
animate them, most of them will be up here, in the room farthest from where we
intend to be.

Winn reached into the pockets of the corpse, searching.

Is it there?
Deem asked, stepping back to look into the hallway.

Winn kept rummaging through the pockets, his hand running
into pens and other small objects.
This is all normal shit,
he said.
No
tin box.

Check the floor,
Deem suggested.
Maybe it fell out.

Winn dropped to the floor. The richly upholstered rug was
stained directly below the corpse. He looked to see if the object might have
rolled under furniture. There was nothing.

This isn’t Jacob,
Winn said, standing.
Just our luck, with a fifty-fifty
shot we hit dry.

His second option is just two houses over,
Deem replied.
Come on.

They made their way back downstairs. Deem used the front
door, and after checking for the existence of a cinderblock, walked through.
Winn followed her.
Bingham opened a door, let the wind blow that rose off
the table,
he thought.
That’s how he tricked Lorenzo. He might try to sabotage
the bricks, too. But he can’t change the state of the house. It’ll look like a
dump, like the dilapidated heap of wood it really is. Even if he takes the
cinderblock, there’s still that.

Deem walked through to the next kitchen, and led them to the
hallway. She opened the exterior door, revealing another kitchen.

This has to be it,
Deem said.
If Jacob isn’t in here, then Lorenzo was
wrong.

Or you messed up the sequence to get us here,
Winn replied.

I’m pretty sure I didn’t,
she replied.
If he’s not here, we’ll work our way
back to Lorenzo and have a talk.

She stepped through, and Winn followed. The house looked and
felt exactly the same; filled with furniture and expensively adorned with
decoration. They scanned each room as they passed, and when they reached the
top of the stairs, Deem made her way first to the master bedroom.

She grabbed the door handle and swung it open. It was empty.

He’s in another room,
Winn said.

They backed out and began checking the other rooms upstairs.
Each was empty.

That leaves the rooms off the hallway,
Deem said, and they descended the
stairs quietly, moving quickly to the hallway and checking each of the rooms
there.

When they reached the last one, Deem threw open the door.
Winn already had a sinking feeling that it would be empty, too, and wasn’t
surprised as the door creaked open, revealing Emma’s sewing room; a large quilt
was suspended over the floor, half completed.

Fuck!
Deem said.
Did we skip anything?

They walked back down the hallway.
Maybe we should check
closets,
Winn suggested.

Most of the bedrooms don’t have closets,
Deem said.
They have armoires.
Closets weren’t fashionable when this house was built.

We check the armoires, then.

As they walked into the stairwell, Winn turned and stopped.

Wait,
he said.

What?

There.
He pointed to a small closet door, under the stairs.

Why would he stuff the body in there?
Deem asked.

Winn walked to the small door and opened it. It was a tiny
room that looked suited to storage, and it was very dark at the back. He felt claustrophobia
rise in his throat.

I’m going to walk back in there and see if I can find
anything,
Winn said.

It’s so dark, Winn! You’ll be searching with your hands!

Only way we’re gonna know for sure,
he replied, and stepped inside the
small chamber. He reached out, feeling only air and seeing only darkness. He
felt tightness in his chest, the same tightness he remembered when he pressed
through narrow openings in caves.

It’s not a tight cave closing in on me,
he thought.
It’s a closet.
Soldier
on. We’ve got work to do.

He stepped forward, his fingers stretching to make contact
with something to prevent tripping and falling. He moved his arms from side to
side, trying to cover more space.

Anything?
he heard Deem call from behind him.

Not yet,
he said, just as his hand brushed against something soft. He felt it
give and move away from him.

Fuck,
he thought, his mind racing, sure he’d just awoken the Creepsis.

Whatever he had touched now bumped into him again, then
pulled away.

He felt his legs taking a step back.
I’m still here,
he thought.
Nothing pounced.

He moved forward again, brushing against the soft surface
that swung away.
A body
, he thought.
A hanging body, swinging.

Here it is!
he called back over his shoulder, and he moved closer to the
corpse to search it, still in the dark. Inside the jacket lapel pocket he found
a long, thin bulge, and when he removed it he felt the cold metal.
This is
it!
he thought, and backed out of the closet, where the dim light in the
stairwell allowed him to show the find to Deem.

It was an oddly-shaped box, circular on both ends. There were
sliding lids over each section.

Hold it flat and let’s open it,
Deem said.
Don’t let what’s
inside fall out!

Winn turned the tin until it was face up, and tried to slide
open one of the lids. It wouldn’t budge.

He reached for the other, and it slid open without a hitch,
revealing a small amount of powder in the bottom of the tin chamber.

Wow, that’s not a lot,
Winn said.

Kari said it doesn’t take much,
Deem replied.
If we’re careful,
we can still divvy that four ways.

Winn slid the lid closed.
Then let’s get started.

They walked to the quilting room and went to the farthest
corner, where Winn reopened the tin and reached inside to pinch out a small
amount of the powder. He rubbed his fingers together over the wooden floor in
the corner, and a tiny amount dropped to the floor.

Good luck lighting that!
Winn said.
I don’t think it’s enough.

Deem removed two rocks from her pocket, and began striking
them together. Each strike produced a bevy of blue sparks that danced over the
floor. She continued to strike them until a wisp of acrid smoke rose from the
powder. They watched as a thin line of bluish flame began to eat its way
through the pile.

Carma said you don’t really get any kind of flame with elemental
fire, just sparks,
Deem said.
When something ignites, it’s a slow, small burn, like embers.

Looks like it worked,
Winn said, watching as the powder turned to ash.
That’s
one down.

They moved to the parlor, where they repeated the process.
Winn was careful to ensure that he left enough for two more applications, and
Deem worked the rocks until sparks ignited the powder and another column of
smoke arose.

Then they walked to the kitchen and performed the same steps;
Winn dropped the powder, checking the tin to make sure he had enough left for
their final corner, and Deem stuck the rocks, producing sparks of elemental
fire. One of the sparks eventually landed on the powder, slowly consuming it.
It was like watching the tiny remnants of fire crawling through a piece of
paper after the initial flame had gone out.

One more,
Winn said.