Harmless
by
Katherine Dell
Genre:
Paranormal Thriller
Be
careful what you wish for.
After
moving from Vancouver to isolated
Hazelton,
BC, high school senior Rachel Barnes hopes she’ll finally find
closure and a sense of direction after tragedy has torn her family
apart. When she and her friends discover the old spirit box her
grandmother gave her, they see it as a chance to wish their troubles
away. But the Great Spirits—deer, crow, bear, and the mythical
wendigo—give away nothing for free.
So
instead of worrying about fitting in and
finding a boyfriend, Rachel
finds herself in a race to control the malevolent spirit who’s
taken up residence in Mason Allen, who she fears and craves
in
equal measure. What began as a harmless game forces Rachel to
confront her past—and offers her a future she never imagined.
Step
into a reality that is not as it seems in Book 1 of the Harmless
series.
I watch as Julie fills the mugs with water and
puts them in the microwave. When they’re done, she plunks a tea bag in each and
brings them over to the kitchen table. Sitting with a huff, I plunk myself down
on a chair. Wrapping my fingers around the steaming cup of tea, I breathe in
deeply. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have the same effect as that mist. My
problems are all still here.
“Thanks, Julie.”
“For the tea? No
problem.”
“No, for not
leaving.” I drown my tea bag with my spoon, pushing it to the bottom. “I just
invited people over for some drinks and cards and . . . that happened!” I motion to the box laying open in the
living room. “You guys are never going to want to hang out with me again.”
“I wouldn’t say
that. Sure, this is probably the strangest thing any of us has ever seen, but
we all like you. Hey.” She gives my shoulder a little push. “Don’t frown too
much. You’ll give yourself wrinkles. You’re too pretty for wrinkles. On a
different note, I guess we know that wishing box works. I can’t wait for mine
to come true. Could you imagine?”
“Why? What did you
wish for?”
“For a new
community center,” she says. “One with a gym, and a games room, and a place to
take classes and work out and stuff. I’ve been on the committee at school for
it for, like, two years. It doesn’t seem like it’s ever going to happen.”
I know the project she’s talking about. My
grams dragged me to a craft sale at the community center once. The building
looks like it’s made entirely out of school portables, like a patchwork quilt.
The town has been raising funds for years to build a new one. It’s just one of
the many projects Julie gets involved in around here. That’s why she’s a lifer.
She loves this town. She’s never going to leave it.
Julie’s watching me over the rim of her cup.
“So what was your wish?”
I let the waiting air in my lungs huff out. “I
wished that . . . that I knew what I wanted, and that I’d find it
here in Hazelton.” Saying it out loud doesn’t sound as awesome as it did in my
head. The look on her face makes me wonder if my best friend just found out
what a nut bar I really am.
“I like it,” she
says finally. “I hope you find whatever it is you’re looking for too.” She
sounds convincing. Thank God. I don’t know what I’d do without my rock.
“Do you want me to
call my mom and ask her if I can stay over? Or you could come stay at my place
if you’re too creeped out to stay here alone.”
She knows what I’m thinking without me saying
a word. “It’s okay. I’ll be fine.” I’ll be no
more screwed up than I already am.
“Okay. I’ll at
least help you clean up a bit.” She puts her mug in the sink before going to
the living room. I see her hesitate for a second before bending down to sweep
the carved animal pieces back into the box. “The wendigo piece isn’t here.”
“Don’t worry about
it. It’s probably under the couch. I’ll find it later.” Maybe it’s best if no
one else but me touches the box from now on. “Do you want me to take you home?”
Katherine
Dell is a young adult fiction author fascinated by the supernatural
and the stories that surround them. She began her writing endeavours
in 2011 when she wanted to reinvent herself from her previous career
as an event planner. When she’s not writing, she can be found in
cold hockey arenas sipping coffee, working on her tan at little
league games, or trying to keep her dog out of her many gardens. She
lives with her husband, two boys, and fur babies, in Calgary,
Alberta, Canada.
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