The Graves of Plague Canyon (The Downwinders Book 3) by Michael Richan Read Free Book Online Page A

something
interesting.”
    She wandered into the hallway and found herself drifting
toward the back room that overlooked the yard, her favorite room in the house.
Carma was there, curled up on couch, reading a book. She glanced up as Deem
walked into the room.
    “You poor dear, what’s wrong with your eyes?” Carma asked.
    “I’ve been staring at that screen for too long,” Deem
replied.
    “Well, you must stop immediately. Come sit for a while and
relax. Would you like something to drink? A diet Coke, maybe?”
    “I think I’ll be turning in soon, so I should probably lay
off the caffeine.”
    “My dear,” Carma said, “there’s so much caffeine in your
body, I doubt it would matter. You’ve built up a tolerance. How about a cordial
instead?”
    “What’s a cordial?”
    “It’s what normal people — and by normal I mean non-Mormon —
drink in the evening after dinner but before bed. Something you sip while you
have a leisurely chat with friends.”
    “Sounds perfect,” Deem said. “Is it alcoholic?”
    “It most certainly is!” Carma said, setting her book down and
rising from the couch. She walked into the next room and soon returned with two
small glasses, a milky-white inch of liquid in the bottom of both. She handed
one to Deem and then resumed her spot on the couch.
    “Is this like when people drink brandy in the evening?” Deem
asked. “Like on TV?”
    “Yes, but we’re not leaping to brandy just yet,” Carma
replied. “Take a small sip and tell me what you think.”
    Deem brought the glass to her lips, and she could smell the
alcohol. She took a sip, and then lowered the glass.
    “Oh!” she said. “That’s really good.”
    “It’s Irish cream, dear,” Carma replied, sipping her own. “A
perfect next drink as we continue your debauchery!”
    “I just ran across something interesting, in my scanning,”
Deem said. “It was a symbol of a circle with an arrow through it. The arrow is
pointing left. Ever heard of such a thing?”
    “How intriguing!” Carma said, her eyes widening. “A
mysterious symbol! No, I don’t think I’ve ever run across it. What do you think
it means?”
    “Well, I saw the same mark on a warning sign at the mouth of Plague
Canyon this morning,” Deem replied. “Very small, in the right upper corner.
Didn’t think much of it, until I noticed it on a page I was just scanning.”
    “Did Claude’s writings explain it?” Carma asked.
    “Kind of,” Deem replied. “It said it was used many years ago
by a group of local archeologists who were also spiritualists and supposedly had
‘unusual powers’. I take that last part to mean gifted.”
    “Fascinating!” Carma said, her glass of Baileys waving though
the air as she spoke. Deem was afraid the liquid would fly out of the glass,
but it always seemed to slosh to the top of the rim and then settle back down.
“Like a secret code between artisans!”
    “I guess,” Deem replied. “It makes me wonder if there was
more to that sign than I thought.”
    “What did the sign say?”
    “It was old, and there was a board missing at the bottom,”
Deem replied. “It read: ‘Private property. Dangerous Canyon. Stay…’ and then
the rest of it was cut off by the missing board.”
    “Stay out, no doubt,” Carma said.
    “That’s what we thought.”
    “And the mark was on the sign?”
    “Upper right corner. Not big, but easy enough to make out.”
    “And the sign looked old?” Carma asked. “Like it could have
been made by an archeologist many years ago?”
    “I suppose,” Deem answered. “It looked like it had been
baking in the sun there for years. The letters were etched and burned into the
wood.”
    “Did you inspect the sign in the River?” Carma asked, raising
an eyebrow.
    “No, I didn’t think to,” Deem answered.
    She pointed a long, boney finger at Deem. “Then you must go
back out there, my dear, and see if there’s a secret message on it, intended
only for gifteds.