Lost Girl

By Dax Varley

Juniper Lynch has a flair for all things psychic - a gift she inherited from her dearly departed granny.

When her best friend, Gena needs help finding her missing retainer, Juniper is quick to try scrying, aka crystal-gazing. With no crystal ball handy, she goes the easy route and gazes into a glass of water. But the image that appears is not what she expected. The shriveled face of a missing girl floats to the surface. Juniper is seized by a mystical connection and the countdown clock begins.

Can she find the lost girl before they both wither away?

• Language: English
• Publisher: XinXii
• Release date: Aug 9, 2014
• ISBN: 9781497577374

Book preview

Varley

~ 1 ~

Stupid? Yeah. Or maybe not.

I shoved aside some purses, shoeboxes and yearbooks to reach the old Ouija board on the top shelf of my bedroom closet. I found it.

My best friend, Gena rolled her eyes. What are we, twelve?

We are today. Has it really been four years since Mr. Ouija was our trusted sage and advisor? Considering the amount of dust on the cratered box…yeah. I also noted the pretty pink duct tape I’d used to hold the corners together, and where I’d scribbled Property of Juniper Lynch—ahem, my name—on the top.

My other bestie, Anne, who spends far too much time scrolling through her phone, was lying across my bed…uh…scrolling through her phone. She managed to look up. Nice. You guys do all the asking and I’ll lie here, offering my undying support. Her eyes found her phone again.

I blew the dust off the board and plopped down on the floor, pretzel-style. Come on, Gena, you’re the one with the question.

She looked like I’d asked her to change a diaper, but scooted up anyway.

I placed the rickety planchette on the board. The once cream-colored pointer was now missing its clear eye along with one of the felt leg pads. And the edges were dark from hours of having our grubby little fingers on it. Sad, yes, but there was something comforting about it too.

Gena’s expression shifted from diaper-changing to red alert. If anyone finds out about this…

No one will find out. Right, Anne?

She never looked up. Right.

And even if they did, I said, "could it be as bad as what your dad’s going to do when he finds out you’ve lost your retainer for the third time?"

Yep, Gena’s third time to misplace her retainer. The first time she got off with a warning. The second time she served two weeks under house arrest with limited internet and spotty cable. Strike three? She could be sent up the river. Literally. Her dad’s been itching to enroll her in this lame computer camp, located on the shores of the Sabine River. He claims it’ll build character and teach responsibility. But no one should be sentenced to six weeks of techie geek-a-tude.

We placed the tips of our fingers on the planchette. I took a deep breath. This brought back a ton of sixth grade memories. Only back then we thought we could solve mysteries with this thing. Dumb.

Gena sat tall, wiggling to compose herself, then asked, Where is my retainer?

No sooner had she spoke it when it happened—that familiar blue energy rolled through me. A sixth sense of sorts. I’d always called it my Blue Vibe. It’s something I’d carried around forever, and supposedly, inherited from my grandmother.

The planchette moved, wobbling from one letter to the next. It used to glide, but…missing felt pad, remember?

P—A—R—K

I sat back, satisfied. There you go. You lost it in a park.

Gena kept her gaze on the board. Two things. One, where would I find a park?

Are you asking me or the Ouija?

I’m not asking anyone. Denote the attitude. It’s snark.

Okay, she did have a valid point. The apartment complex where she lives is Concrete Central—sandwiched between a metropolis of strip centers and chain restaurants. A dog-walker’s nightmare.

"Two, she emphasized, What would I be doing in a park?"

Anne managed to look up. Maybe you lost it in a parking lot?

Gena spread her hands by the pointer, game show style. "Only it didn’t spell parking lot, it spelled park."

Yeah, I said, the Ouija’s never abbreviated before.

Anne shrugged. Then maybe ask more specifically.

I placed my fingers on the planchette, preparing for the go-again. She’s right. And this time really concentrate.

Gena mumbled something under her breath, followed by, If I concentrate any harder I’ll develop a brain tumor. She put her fingers in place and asked, "Where specifically is my retainer?"

The planchette circled in looping arcs.

P—A—R—K

Gah! In a hissy fit of rage, she picked up the pointer and threw it, hitting one of my movie posters. I turned in time to see it ricochet off James Franco’s nose and land on a pile of dirty clothes I’d been meaning to pick up forever.

Watch it! I hopped up to retrieve it, remembering why that poor planchette looked as haggard as it did.

She sunk. Sorry.

What can I tell you, Gena, it spelled park. Looks like you’re doomed to a summer in tech hell.

Anne glanced up again. Finally, an accurate prediction.

Seriously, y’all, Gena said, I can’t spend the summer imprisoned among inmates with permanent wedgies and pocket protectors.

I pictured it, then tried not to. Wedgies? Really?

Are you kidding? she said. Some of those guys wear their pants so tight you can see their external hard drives.

Again, pictured it, then…ew.

Look, it might not be all that bad, Anne said. Some of the cutest guys are geeks.

Sci-fi geeks. Comic book geeks. Not computer geeks!

And it’s not like you’ll be the only girl there, I added.

Gena did a palms up in a pleading manner. I don’t want to be there at all.

Don’t worry, I assured her. We’ll find it. It’s just a matter of using the right medium.

I cocked my hip against the dresser, catching a glimpse of my reflection in the mirror. Crap. That stinking zit was back. Would my chin ever be celebrity-clear? I leaned close and squeezed.

Anne propped herself up on her elbow. "Remember that time Juniper lost her charm bracelet and we swung a pendulum over

Reviews for Lost Girl

[katsmiao · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Reading this novelette left me wanting more. The story was interesting, fun, fast paced, had good characters, suspense, action and was great to read.

[madamediotte · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A quick and fun read that entertained me the whole way through!

[lizasarusrex · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A psychic teenage girl is on a serious mission to help her best friend find her retainer, before her Dad finds out and grounds her for life. Or worse, sends her away to summer camp. She's going to use as much of her psychic abilities to see where the retainer is. While she is searching, something else comes up, a young girl who appears to be lost.Juniper, and her two best friends Gena and Anne must not only find the missing retainer but also look into the mysterious disappearance of a girl named Laurie.The girls interact like any other set of best friends in high school. The only difference is they are much more gutsy and daring, putting themselves in dangers path many times, just to find a girl they don't even know.I started and finished this book in the same day, for it was a fairly short read. The description words that best fit this book are fun, and adventurous. I rate this book 5/5 and recommend it to any young teenage girl who likes a quick fun read.

[mishker-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Juniper has inherited some mystic skills from her grandmother, whenever she uses these skills, she gets what she calls her 'Blue Vibe."Juniper is helping her friend Gena try to find her missing retainer along with their friend Anne. They consult a Ouija Board for help; the board gives them the word 'Park.' This isn't helpful to any of the girls, so they decide to try scrying instead. While scrying, Juniper sees a young girl that is injured; the girl's face continues to haunt Juniper as they search for Gena's retainer. When Juniper comes across a "Missing" poster with the girl's face on it, her Blue Vibe jumps into overdrive and she decides that she needs to find this lost girl no matter what.A good, fast-paced, Sci-Fi mystery with very true to life teenage girl characters. Who knew a missing retainer could lead to finding a runaway girl? I like the way the Juniper's psychic elements were handled and using an I-pad as a modern scrying device was great! Juniper, Gena and Anne were great characters that I felt like I knew, despite the fact that this is a novelette and not very long at all. Lost Girl was received for free via Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

[sportzmomof5 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I was given this book in exchange for an honest review.I have read another book, Spellbound and Determined, by Dax and loved it. After reading this book all I can say is she did not disappoint. This book is short but every page and paragraph are fun and fast paced. For such a short story the storyline is well developed and the characters are great! I was definitely wanting more when it was over. Can't wait to read more from by this author.

[montzaleew · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Lost Girl by Dad Varley is a great psychic mystery that is probably made for teens but I loved it too! Great story!