The Lost Souls Dating Agency (16 page)

How could a powerful witch not know about The Mythical Weekly?

‘No,' I said slowly, ‘the other Weekly.'

‘Oh right.' The woman's gaze darted around.

‘Do you know what I'm talking about?' I was candid.

‘Oh I've lost my most recent copy,' the woman said quickly. ‘Give me your address just in case.'

Against my better judgement I gave the woman the warehouse address. She was tiny and looked no more dangerous than a pesky mouse.

Will and I looked at her as she scurried away.

‘She looks familiar,' Will said with furrowed eyebrows.

‘I know right?' I said frustrated ‘But where could we have seen her?'

We continued walking puzzled.

‘Bugger!' Will stopped dead in his tracks. ‘I remember now. She was at the cafe, on the table next to us, reading a magazine.'

She must have heard everything!

We decided not to go to the warehouse in case she followed us again. I went home and Will made me promise to let him know if anything happened at the meeting with her tomorrow.

‘If she is a Wiccan then she should know about us already, all the witches I knew used to get The Mythical Weekly delivered to them,' Roxanne said placidly the next morning, when I told her about the woman.

‘That's what I thought,' I mused. ‘I don't know what possessed me to just give her details on how to find us. I need to start protecting the business better.'

‘Maybe she put a spell on you so you had no choice but to tell her?' Roxanne patted my arm comfortingly.

‘I don't think so.' I recalled the night of my “virtual” conversation with the Vampire League of Albion, when the female vampire questioned me about Victor and Fiona's disappearance. The warm uncomfortable feeling cloaking me, and my inability to think or move consciously,
that
had felt like a truth spell. Just thinking about it made my mouth feel dry.

‘No. I think I was just nagged into divulging the information.' I was cross with myself.

‘Well never mind, I'll be around in case anything should happen.' Roxanne remained calm.

This provided little comfort. After all, Roxanne, like me, was only human.

***

It was almost the end of the day and the woman had made no appearance. Will had messaged asking me how it went and I told him she was a no show. Maybe she had forgotten about the agency. At a quarter to five, I heard a knock on the main door of the warehouse office, followed by the sound of a door opening and a ‘hello'. It was the woman.

‘Hello,' I called out.

‘Hi, Shalini.' The woman came up to me as I walked out of my office. I looked at Roxanne, sitting at her reception desk and rolled my eyes slightly.

‘What is it?' the woman asked quizzically. She looked vacantly at the spot where Roxanne was seated.

Roxanne shuffled in her chair and sat up straighter. The woman looked around the room oblivious to her movements.

‘My receptionist is,' I began, then checked myself, ‘that is, she usually sits right there.' I pointed at Roxanne.

‘Oh, not in today then?' The woman looked at the spot I pointed to.

Roxanne bristled. ‘She can't see me,' she said bewildered.

What should I do now?

I looked away from Roxanne. ‘Yes, she is away sick,' I said to the woman. ‘Why don't you come into my office?' I steered her into the larger room. I gave Roxanne a brief worried glance, who looked equally worried.

Once seated behind my desk, I asked curtly, ‘Now, what can I do for you?'

‘As I said to you yesterday, I am interested in finding a suitable match.'

‘Right.' I became all business. ‘Let's start with your name?'

‘Doris Mavis Lois Marguerite Higginbottom,' the woman said haughtily.

Really?

I cleared my throat. ‘So, Doris, why did you choose to come to Lost Souls?'

‘Because I've tried so many other ways of meeting men,' she began earnestly, ‘but none have worked. It's because of my powers you see.' She pointed knowingly to her hands. I peered at them.

‘Can't you see the sparks?' Doris asked.

‘I'm sorry, the sparks?' I saw nothing.

‘My hands. Look at them.' Doris spread her fingers and waved her hands maniacally in the air. I still saw nothing. They looked like ordinary non-sparking hands.

‘Can't you see the sparks coming from my fingers?' Doris was increasingly exasperated.

I stared.

Doris sighed. ‘Ah not many people can see my gifts. I was hoping you would be different since you ran this agency.'

I was instantly annoyed. What was she insinuating? ‘Is there anything else you can do, other than sparking?'

Doris gave me a withering look. ‘I can do plenty. But I will not unleash my powers upon you.'

Oh gees. ‘Doris, I'm quite stringent about what cases I take on.'

This conversation was going nowhere. Fast.

‘I'm glad that you are particular about your cases. I would not come to any old agency you know.' Doris was smarmy.

‘So you can understand my dilemma. I need to ascertain your,' I paused, ‘well your level of suitability. So far I don't think Lost Souls is the right agency for you.' A psychiatric ward might be more likely.

Doris shot up on the sofa. She looked very much like a tiny elf surrounded by the large leather cushions. ‘Let me read your future for you,' she said. ‘My predictions are so accurate that you won't need any convincing.'

‘I really don't need my fortunes read.' This woman refused to take no for an answer.

‘Here, I have my cards with me.' Doris pulled out a pack of tarot cards from her expensive handbag. She insisted, for the next hour, on reading my future. It was all very general and vague. She picked up cards and laid them down and made the appropriate noises and expressions to go along with her predictions.

Finally, with Doris predicting my imminent death with every card, I decided to put an end to this. ‘Doris, I'm sorry but I must insist that you leave my office now.'

‘So you'll take me on as a client?' She gave me a rather pathetic look.

‘Let me think about it.' Why couldn't I just refuse her outright?

‘Excellent, I'll be back tomorrow.' Doris sprang up from the sofa.

‘That really won't be necessary,' I said quickly. ‘I can ring you.'

‘No that's okay. I'll come at around eleven in the morning. See you then.' She hastily picked up her bag and escorted herself out.

As soon as the main door slammed shut, I emitted the loudest sigh, followed by a rude word that bears no good repeating.

‘She's no witch,' Roxanne exclaimed as soon as Doris left.

‘I figured that out in the first minute she was here.' I sank into the sofa. ‘Why couldn't she see you?' I asked but I was distracted by the clock in the room. There was something different about it.

‘Well I'm not visible to anyone who has no need to see me. She must have no need to be here,' Roxanne said.

‘The Singh's could see you easily…' I kept staring at the clock. I realised with a start what was different about it. It was moving backwards.

‘That's because they were real weres and Jaya, such a lovely girl, had a need to find you and by extension, me as well.' Roxanne realised I was paying her no attention. ‘Are you okay?' she asked.

I stood up and pointed at the clock. ‘Did you wind that recently or do anything to it?'

‘No I never come into this room, unless the phone rings.'

‘Look at it.' I walked towards it. ‘Look at its arms!'

Roxanne drew closer. ‘They're moving backwards!' she said sounding as shocked as I was.

‘How peculiar.' I turned to look at Roxanne. ‘You know this clock was already here when I came into the warehouse. We tried to remove it from the wall, but it wouldn't budge. It just keeps ticking away loudly. I never have to wind it or change the batteries if it even has any.'

‘That sounds magical to me.' Roxanne stepped quickly away from it.

I couldn't help but tease. ‘You know for someone who was once married to a warlock, you sure are terrified of magic.'

‘That's because I know how powerful it can be.' Roxanne's face was grave.

‘Well I hope the magical clock can someday work itself to telling me the correct time,' I grumbled. It really was piece of junk.

Roxanne looked at it like it was a hand grenade and shuffled away. ‘I'm going to go make a cup of tea. Would you like one?'

‘That would be great, thank you!' I called out to the retreating receptionist.

I looked at the clock ticking away normally, if you can call a clock moving backwards normal. At least it had stopped making the annoying twang it used to. I thought back to the empty warehouse and my cleaning and refurbishing. In fact, now that I thought about it more carefully, I couldn't remember it making that horrible sound for ages. I stared at it for a while and it kept ticking away backwards. It didn't feel sinister.

Oh well, I decided to let it do as it pleased.

***

I waited for Doris to arrive at eleven the next day. And I waited. It was nearly two in the afternoon and there was still no sign of her. Roxanne was away at the library on a lunch break. This Doris woman was perpetually late. It was so annoying.

I did some catch-up study and reading. When the phone rang, it made me jump.

‘Lost Souls,' I said pleasantly.

‘Hello, Shalini.' It was a familiar voice.

‘Oh hello, Steven.' I smiled. It was the old were-treasurer. ‘It's nice to hear from you.'

‘I'm calling on business.' He was abrupt.

‘How can I help you?'

‘A member of the Berowra Waters pack has asked to be given permission to undergo his transformation at the full moon in the waters of Port Philip Bay.'

Finn!

Steven continued, ‘Normally the organisation forbids any transformations so close to human contact, but in this case, special dispensation has been sought from us.'

‘Is this about Finn?' I asked.

‘Yes. He is seeking permission to swim close to the shore at Williamstown.' Steven was deadly sombre.

‘Why would he do that?' I was puzzled.

Steven ignored me. ‘He has also asked permission for a member of another pack to be present.' Steven's tone gave nothing away. ‘This pack member does not pose too much of a threat, since her form is a native kangaroo. Nonetheless it is not ideal, especially if she is spotted and reported, or captured while she is in her transformed state.'

What were Jaya and Finn doing?

I heard the main door of the warehouse open. It might be Roxanne, but I bristled when Doris called out ‘Hellooo?'

‘Could you hold on a second please, Steven?' I placed my hand over the mouthpiece and called out to Doris. ‘Hello, Doris, I'm on a phone call here.'

Doris brazenly walked into my office and made a move to sit on the sofa.

‘Could you please sit in the smaller room outside? This is a private conversation,' I said irritably. The nerve of the woman!

‘Sure sure.' Doris hastily walked out of the room. I knew she would still hear everything. This was not ideal.

‘Sorry, Steven, please continue.' I spoke in a lower tone.

‘Your name was mentioned in conjunction with this dispensation request. Apparently you introduced the two young weres to each other.' I detected a razor sharp edge in Steven's tone.

‘Jaya's father came to the agency requesting a match for his daughter. I introduced her to Finn,' I said frostily.

‘This is a delicate matter, Shalini. Our organisation is responsible for all the packs that live in and around the greater Melbourne metropolitan area. Usually pack members have their own agreements about coupling…we have never had a situation where an arranged match was made between such different weres.'

‘It's quite common practice where I come from, I can assure you,' I said, not completely understanding him.

‘That might be the case
where you come from
, but it's not common practice here,' he said bluntly. ‘Perhaps the Singh family should have looked in their own community for a match.'

‘Are you still talking about the were-community or their Indian one?' Realisation dawned. ‘Or is their race important to you as well? Is that the point?' I was starting to get annoyed.

Steven chose his words carefully. ‘The point is that both Jaya and Finn transform into completely different creatures. This transcends their cultures.' There was a brief pause before he continued slowly, ‘The dispensation is being sought so they can spend time together in their transformed state, irrespective of their packs. Your matchmaking has put ideas into their heads about being together. A were-shark and a were-kangaroo, I ask you?' He did a bad job of hiding his frustration.

‘I'm sure they will be able to manage their differences.' My reply was swift.

‘And expose our entire community in the meantime,' he snapped.

‘I don't know what you want me to do about it, Steven. I can't un-introduce them.' I didn't like being accused.

‘The dispensation has been granted, on the proviso that you make sure the correct procedure is followed and secrecy is maintained,' Steven said dryly.

I was shocked. Why was I chosen? Then another thought crossed my mind. ‘So in short, if anything goes wrong I'm in trouble?'

‘Yes,' Steven said curtly.

‘But I don't even know what the procedure is for these things! Why are you making me do it?'

‘The onus of bringing them together lies with you. So you are now responsible for making sure their relationship does not harm us in any way.' I waited for him to say more. But he stopped there. What was he not telling me? I felt certain there was something else.