‘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.
‘I don’t know anything about were-business…’ I tried to prod him into telling me more.
‘You will find out tomorrow night. Just make sure they are not spotted and no human is harmed. We will review the case after that.’
‘Tomorrow night?’ I said loudly. I hardly had time to think, let alone plan.
‘That is the next full moon. Good luck.’ I knew he didn’t mean it. The phone went dead.
Before I could react, Doris walked into the office.
‘Don’t worry, dear, I heard everything and I’ll come and help you tomorrow night, my powers will be useful,’ she said with a sickly smile.
Bloody Doris! I imagined twisting my hands slowly around her neck.
Chapter 33
Doris was convinced that I was in some kind of trouble. Having overheard snippets of my conversation with Steven, she was certain her “powers” could solve everything. The last thing I needed was Doris snooping about were-community business. If Steven or any of the other weres — especially Mia-dagger-eyes — found out, it would be the final nail in my coffin.
In the end, pestered incessantly, I capitulated and asked Doris to meet me at six p.m. the following night at Williamstown. That seemed to appease “the witch” and I finally escorted her out of my office.
As soon as she left, I rang Jaya. I needed to know what was going on.
‘It’s a crazy idea that Finn had. I told him that it might get us into trouble. I don’t know why…’ Jaya stopped and rephrased, ‘I mean I know why he wants us to transform together, but we could go to a more remote beach. It doesn’t have to be Williamstown!’
‘Well the were-powers that be want me to make sure nothing goes wrong.’ I was feeling jittery. ‘Do you think anything will go wrong?’
‘No,’ Jaya said calmly, ‘of course not. Both Finn and I know what we’re doing. We’ve been transforming for years.’
‘What about your father?’ I asked.
‘My father needs to realise that not everyone can be who or what he wants them to be,’ Jaya said plainly. ‘I like Finn…I really like him and I want us to do this together.’
***
I called Finn next. I needed answers. Starting with, why he nominated to involve me in his dispensation?
Finn was his usual friendly self. ‘I’m sorry to drag you into all this, Shalini, but Jaya ha
s to understand something about herself. This is the only way I thought I could do it.’
‘What do you want Jaya to know about herself?’ I was confused.
‘That she is more than she thinks she is,’ Finn said softly.
‘I don’t understand.’
‘Jaya is more than wolf and more than kangaroo. I’m sure she has the power to transform herself into any creature she desires.’
‘Is that even possible?’ I was surprised.
‘It’s quite rare. I know of very few individuals in the were-community who are shape-shifters like her.’
‘How do you know she is one?’
‘She used to turn into a wolf when she was little and now she turns into a kangaroo. I think it has more to do with Jaya’s mind, the kind of creature she becomes. I’ve seen the potential in her.’
I let this sink in. ‘Why do you need me to be there?’ I finally asked.
‘I need your help with Jaya. Maybe you could talk to her?’ he said hopefully.
‘Help her with what?’
‘Realise who she is,’ Finn said slowly.
‘I’ll try, but you know I’m scared shitless about this.’
He laughed. ‘Don’t worry so am I. Listen should I ask Will to come along? Would you feel better if he were there?’
I thought about this. I really didn’t want to drag Will into my business. Plus he hadn’t even seen the warehouse yet! One step at a time.
‘No that’s okay. I can handle it,’ I said bravely.
We talked a little more and I confirmed the meeting time with him. It was eleven the next night. I told him briefly about the Doris problem. I quickly discussed the plan I had come up with to distract Doris from the real show, that is, from Jaya and Finn. He seemed nonplussed about it all.
I heard Roxanne enter the warehouse when I finished my conversation with Finn.
‘Did you get anything interesting from the library, Rox?’ I called out.
Roxanne’s head peeped through the office door. ‘Sorry I was away for so long, I got a little carried away.’ She was sheepish.
‘That’s okay. You only left me here to deal with the mighty Wiccan by myself.’ I rolled my eyes.
‘Oh she finally arrived then?’
‘She did more than arrive. She made a royal pain of herself…’ I relayed the day’s events to her.
‘Roxanne, I’ll need your help tomorrow out of office hours.’ I explained about Jaya and Finn.
‘Do you want me to be there when they transform?’ Roxanne’s eyes bulged.
‘Well, hopefully not. I wanted you to be there earlier. You see I have a plan and it involves you helping me with Doris,’ I replied cryptically.
‘Oh do tell.’ Roxanne looked intrigued.
We talked and planned late into the evening.
Chapter 34
At a quarter to six the next evening, I parked my car at Williamstown beach. There were a few people around, clutching colourful towels and large straw hats, most making their way to parked cars heading home. Roxanne was with me. We had fine-tuned my plan, right down to minute by minute details and emergency procedures for changing scenarios. I felt a little anxious. There was no telling how Doris would react.
Half an hour later I looked irritably at the car dashboard clock. There was no sign of Doris. It was nearing seven and I was losing my patience.
About ten minutes later, I saw a short lady walk towards the beach from a distance. It was Doris. About bloody time! I jumped out of the car and waved. Roxanne stood next to me. Doris offered no apology for her lateness.
‘So what do you want to do first?’ she asked. She made no acknowledgement to Roxanne. Good, she was still invisible.
First, I wanted to assess what Doris knew about the were-situation.
‘What do you think we can do?’ I asked warily.
‘Well these two young people are in trouble,’ Doris was smug, ‘and I can help them. We can start first by analysing the energy around this area. Do you know why they have chosen to meet here?’
‘I think this is where they first met.’ I tried to be as vague as possible.
‘Oh how special. It should have good energy around it then.’ Doris started to walk towards the beach. She picked a section that was quite pebbly and deserted.
Perfect!
Roxanne walked silently beside Doris and I the entire time. She spoke to me. ‘Should we start here?’
I tilted my head ever so slightly at Roxanne to say yes. Then I turned to the self proclaimed witch. ‘Doris, that was amazing. How did you know this was the exact spot that the young couple met?’
Doris smiled self-righteously. ‘I told you I have great powers.’
I nodded my head enthusiastically. From the corner of my eye I saw Roxanne move closer to Doris. Roxanne shifted a few pebbles around with her feet. Doris immediately noticed the movement.
‘Oh, my energy is making vibrations!’ She pointed happily at the pebbles.
I looked at Roxanne’s feet and suppressed a giggle. Doris began chanting in what sounded like gibberish. I gave her encouraging nods. As Doris’ chanting grew louder, Roxanne scurried around and the pebbles appeared to vibrate faster. She even picked a few up and threw them about. Doris squealed when she saw the flying pebbles. I was having so much fun I didn’t know where to look.
When Doris stopped chanting, Roxanne let go of all her pebbles. To Doris it must have looked like they magically tumbled from the air to the ground.
‘It is done.’ Doris was stern.
‘What is?’ I asked innocently.
‘I have cleansed the area of its negative energy. Now tell me in detail what trouble this couple is in.’ Doris looked at the pebbles on the ground.
I gave Roxanne a quick wink. Time to activate phase two!
I turned to Doris. ‘Their parents don’t want them to be together,’ I lied.
‘And what kind of powers do they have?’ Doris fished for information.
‘Well I think they can read minds,’ I said quickly.
‘Yes,’ Doris nodded knowingly, ‘I could read minds for a few years. It was very tiring. Especially on public transport. Then I explored my powers further and found I could do more special things, like I am now,’ she concluded looking at the pebbles on the ground.
God she was insufferable. I nodded and smiled. ‘That you are.’ I paused, waiting for Roxanne to place herself on a patch of sand behind Doris. When Roxanne was ready, I pointed to the sand where Roxanne started to draw characters. ‘Look, what’s that?’ I gasped. I was such a bad actress. It’s a wonder Doris couldn’t see through my daytime soap effort.
Doris swirled around. Roxanne wrote “Corio Bay” three times on the sandy patch close to her feet. Doris stared mutely at the letters appearing in the sand.
‘What does it mean?’ I asked, knowing very well what it meant.
‘Corio Bay,’ Doris said thoughtfully, ‘that’s in Geelong.’
Roxanne wrote in capital letters on the sand “DANGER”.
‘Oh,’ Doris huffed. I remained silent.
‘There is someone in danger at Corio Bay,’ Doris said urgently. ‘We’ve come to the wrong beach!’
I tried to look concerned. ‘Maybe you should go to Geelong to see what the danger is?’ I said hoping she would take the bait.
‘But I don’t want to leave you here,’ Doris said undecidedly, she kept peeking at the letters in the sand. I knew she found it hard to resist “the message”.
‘Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine,’ I insisted.
‘Geelong is an hour away, I’ll never get back in time if you need me.’ Doris sounded concerned.
Ugh! I wanted to let out an exasperated sigh. Instead, I said, ‘Maybe the couple are going to be there?’
‘Right.’ Doris looked thoughtful. ‘Maybe the message is so I can help them there?’ She looked at me, and I nodded agreement vigorously. Just go, damn you!
Then Roxanne picked up a pebble and threw it at Doris
. Doris turned around immediately. I glared at the receptionist. Tone it down! I didn’t want her to scare Doris too much.
Roxanne gathered a handful of pebbles and carried them towards Doris, whose eyes widened to anime proportions. Roxanne dropped them at her feet.
Doris kicked into action. She looked at me. ‘My energy stones are telling me that I am making the right decision.’
I nodded in agreement, those energy stones are great like that.
‘You’ll call me if anything happens here and you need me?’ Doris asked.
‘Absolutely,’ I replied.
Doris collected herself, back straight, head high, and strode away from the beach. I heaved a sigh of relief as I watched her walk away. Roxanne stood smiling broadly at the receding figure of Doris.
‘That should give her something to do for the rest of the night,’ Roxanne said gleefully.
I put my arm around the receptionist’s shoulders. ‘What a powerful witch you are.’
We doubled over as our laughter floated along the water.
Chapter 35
The rest of the night passed in an instant. Finn arrived two hours later and we waited for Jaya in amicable silence. He looked ready to go for a leisurely swim on a balmy summer afternoon. Instead it was just after ten p.m. and a chilly wind blew from across the Bay. Finn wore multicoloured swim shorts and nothing else. I stealthily admired his broad shouldered physique.
When Jaya arrived, we all talked for a while. I saw how much Finn and Jaya cared for each other, even in the short time that had elapsed since their introduction. It was not an overt adoration, but Finn seemed gentle and noble, and Jaya looked happier and more open. They brought out the best in each other.
Close to midnight, the full moon shining a circular light on us, it was time. Finn kissed Jaya on the forehead, winked at me and ran towards the water with a loud ‘whoop’. He threw off his shorts as he neared the sea and I laughed and looked away. When I looked back, he was gone. There was not a ripple in the tide to indicate he had jumped in. Jaya watched the spot in the ocean where he had disappeared.
‘I wish I could go with him,’ she said.
The Lost Souls Dating Agency Page 13
