The Lost Souls Dating Agency (10 page)

‘Are you safe?' I heard Victor ask.

‘Oh thank goodness,' I nearly cried. ‘Are you?'

‘We are.' I heaved a sigh of relief.

‘Can you tell me where you are?' I asked.

‘It is best not to.'

‘I understand. What do you want me to do?'

‘Nothing. We are on the move. I thought you might be worried, but it took me a while to find refuge where I could contact you.' He sounded tired. Could vampires get tired?

‘Victor, I think the League were very angry with you.'

‘They are still angry. They will not stop until they find us.' He was unnaturally calm.

‘What are you going to do?'

‘That is Fiona's decision. I will do what she wants.'

‘What does she want?'

‘She is not sure yet. But when she is, she only has to ask.'

‘Is she still thinking of turning into,' I hesitated, ‘someone like you?'

‘I don't want it forced upon her. That is why I decided to flee. It is not fair to ask her to choose between life and,' he paused, ‘me.'

‘What if she decides not to change?'

‘We will still be together, despite what the League says. We will have many years together. She will grow older and,' Victor paused, ‘when she is gone, I will go to the League to face my punishment.'

I knew the gravity of his decision. ‘What would the punishment be?'

‘Eternal death, for disobeying the League's decision,' he said bluntly.

I remained silent.

‘It will not be hard to face after Fiona is gone,' he ended.

Tears welled in my eyes. ‘I wish there was something I could do to help you both.'

‘You already have. Remember I was a lost soul without your help.' He chuckled. I found it hard to believe this was the same vampire that had walked into my office, what seemed like many lifetimes ago.

‘Do not concern yourself too much about our situation, I have faced worse dangers. And somehow, being with Fiona, makes everything seem easier,' Victor said comfortably.

‘Victor, I am really happy for you.'

‘Thank you again, Shaleenee, for everything. I hope we shall meet again.'

The phone went dead.

I hunched over my desk. Emotions ran wildly through me, mainly of relief. After a while I opened my laptop and started typing.
Case One: Victor, the Lonely Vampire.

I continued typing late into the night.

The money I earned from Victor's case meant I could now afford to concentrate solely on Lost Souls. This would make my upcoming winter break too wonderful to even think about, especially at this moment, in the midst of my final submission drudgery. I was sitting on a new floor rug purchased for my warehouse office, surrounded by photocopies and textbooks and my laptop. I had spent the last week here, having finally given up on my attempts to study in the library. Too many distractions there…

I heard my phone beep. It was a message from Neha.

Have made a HUGE decision for next year. V. V. excited. I'll call later to tell you. BTW I saw your lover boy lurking about the library. He asked for your phone number. Naturally I gave it to him. I want first dibs on any date goss! Hee xx

I read her message twice. What was this huge decision she had made? Could she have found her “eligible” match? But when? She hadn't mentioned anything till now.
But
more importantly, Will had asked for my phone number.

Hooray!

Later that afternoon, when I heard my phone ring, I felt a flutter in my stomach. It vanished when I saw Neha's number flash on the screen.

‘So has Prince William rung yet?' she asked as soon as I picked up.

‘Not yet.' I smiled.

‘Tsk, very tardy. I'd be rushing to a quiet corner to whisper sweet nothings in your ear right now if I were him,' she said breathing heavily.

‘Stop it, you goose! He probably just wants a reading or something…' I laughed.

‘Sure, sure. That's why he takes every single elective you're in. He should just change his major to Shalini's B.A. and be done with it!' she teased.

‘Don't you have better things to do than to call and tease your poor friend?' I asked trying to change the subject.

‘As a matter of fact I don't!' She giggled.

‘So what's this big decision you have made?'

‘Oh yes,' Neha exclaimed, ‘I almost forgot. Okay are you ready for it?' She paused dramatically. ‘I've decided that after we finish our course next year, I'm going to take an extended gap year in India.'

‘Wow that's a big step.' I was impressed.

‘I know, but it'll get my parents off my back for a while about all this marriage nonsense.'

‘What did they say when you told them?'

‘I sold it to them by saying,' her voice changed to comically Indian, ‘I want to go hiking and soul-searching in the land of my ancestors.'

We both collapsed into fits of laughter.

After we spoke, I thought about her decision at greater length. It was a brave move for my usually laidback friend. It also made me think about my own future. What was I going to do after I finished uni? I had always imagined myself continuing on with postgraduate study. But the last few months with Lost Souls had changed everything. My agency was finally materialising. Now, with my newly acquired funds, maybe I could even afford a receptionist? The more I thought about it, the more appealing it sounded. I hated note keeping and filing. I was also a little tired of being alone in the warehouse. I remembered my first meeting with Victor. It definitely would be good to have someone else around.

But who?

I made a mental inventory of the few people I knew. Other than Megan and Neha, I trusted no one. It didn't seem fair to ask them.

The next day I decided to go to the library —
the other
library at Flemington, not at uni — to clear my head. I hadn't been there for months, and missed talking to Roxanne. I had a niggling feeling that she had helped me somehow.

When I reached the library Roxanne was nowhere to be seen. I walked up to the blonde haired unsmiling librarian at the counter. I didn't like the look of her at all. She had none of Roxanne's affable charm. Blondie looked very bored.

‘Excuse me,' I said. ‘Could you tell me where Roxanne is?'

‘Who's Roxanne?' Blondie barely acknowledged my question.

‘She used to be the librarian here.'

‘I'm the only librarian here.'

‘Well, she was here a few months ago.'

‘I have been here for over three years.'

‘Is there another librarian who works here?' I asked surprised.

‘This is a council library. We don't have the funds for one. We occasionally have casual staff, but that's usually Peter.'

‘Could you have employed another librarian named Roxanne casually for a while?'

‘Not that I know of, and I handle all the rosters.'

‘That's very strange.' I was unnerved. Where was Roxanne?

‘Do you have a book to check out?'

‘No.'

‘Then can you please get out of the line.' Blondie shot me a scathing look.

I turned to see two people queued up behind me. I walked away feeling very confused. How could a librarian just vanish without a trace?

‘I know who you're talking about.' I turned around in the library, astonished.

‘Roxanne, the lady behind the counter doesn't know you exist.'

‘Actually, Shalini, you are one of the few people who know I exist,' she said rather sheepishly.

‘What?' I was totally confused.

‘Do you want to go get tea somewhere? We can talk more privately,' Roxanne said in hushed tones.

Five minutes later, we were at a table at the cafe across the road from the library.

‘Candice can be very abrupt.' Roxanne seated herself comfortably.

‘Is Candice the blonde barrel of laughs behind the counter?'

Roxanne giggled. Then her expression became more serious. ‘Listen, Shalini, you were not meant to find me.'

‘What do you mean?'

‘Okay. This might seem strange to you, but I was once married to a warlock.'

I remained nonplussed. A few months ago, I would probably have committed her to an asylum. But I had just dealt with a League of vampires. Witches and warlocks seemed tame in comparison.

‘My husband died a few years ago in an unfortunate accident, involving a boiling kettle,' Roxanne paused, ‘but that's another matter. I'm not a witch you see. So my husband, Greg, used protective spells to make sure I was always safe. When he died he didn't have a chance to remove those spells. And I don't know how —'

‘What does this have to do with me?' I interrupted.

‘One of the spells Greg performed on me and our house was a non-detector spell. We would only be visible to the outside world if there was a need for us to be or if we wanted to be detected. Since I never knew who you were before you came to the library, I think there might have been some need for you to meet me. The spell wouldn't have allowed it otherwise.'

‘So you think I was meant to meet you in the library?' I was incredulous.

‘That's where I usually like to sit.' Roxanne smiled. ‘I feel like I am surrounded by old friends, my books.' She continued more sombrely, ‘I haven't really been able to talk to many people since my husband died. The non-detector spell is very good.'

I sipped my tea thoughtfully. Maybe I was meant to contact the supernatural world.

Roxanne looked at me. ‘You're taking all this very well, Shalini. Please don't think I'm crazy, I know this is a strange situation. Do you have any questions?' She gave me a concerned look.

‘Do you know anything about The Mythical Weekly?' I asked abruptly.

Now it was Roxanne who looked surprised.

‘How do you know about that?'

‘It started showing up in my office, not long before our conversations about the supernatural world.'

‘Oh dear, I hope I haven't upset anyone.' Roxanne looked nervous. ‘The Mythical Weekly is delivered only to a select audience, obviously those in the supernatural world. I used to read it when it was delivered to my husband.'

‘You don't get it anymore?'

‘Not since Greg passed away.'

‘So you didn't tell them to deliver it to me?'

‘Oh dearie me, no.' Roxanne looked genuinely bewildered. ‘I seldom have dealings with the supernaturals. They keep to themselves. In fact, I've been too scared to contact anyone about the spells around the house. I suppose they will dissipate when I am gone.'

I was a little disappointed Roxanne could not shed more light on the appearance of The Mythical Weekly in my office.

After a moment of consideration Roxanne added, ‘Actually I remember Greg saying that The Mythical Weekly was delivered in a different way to every subscriber. I'm sorry I can't remember more because this was years ago. I know he said there was a connecting object in the area where it appeared. If Greg were here, he could explain.'

I wished I could ask Greg myself. Foiled by a boiling kettle! This was a mystery that was going to have to wait. Instead I sipped my tea silently, and thought about my search for a receptionist. A moment later I said, ‘Roxanne, I placed an ad in The Mythical Weekly about a dating agency some time ago, and a vampire named Victor answered.'

Roxanne's eyes bulged from her head. ‘Are you okay? Did he hurt you?'

‘No, no, he was a perfect gentleman. In fact, I helped him…solve his dating issues.'

‘I don't like vampires.' Roxanne sniffed. ‘Greg always said that they were very untrustworthy.'

Greg sounded like he had a lot of opinions. ‘Victor was fine. In fact, he paid me quite a large sum of money when my contract with him terminated successfully.'

‘Well I've never heard of a decent vampire! Who would have thought it?' Roxanne exclaimed.

‘It has helped me set up the agency. I'm actually looking to expand it and I was hoping you would be interested in joining,' I said hopefully.

Roxanne stared intently at me. ‘In what role would you like me to join? I'm no good at matchmaking.'

‘Oh no, that would be my job. I really could use a receptionist and also someone to help me file all the paperwork I keep about my clients.'

Roxanne was silent.

‘I'm happy to pay you a good salary although it won't be much at this stage,' I said, somewhat embarrassed.

‘Oh that's not a problem. I'm in no need of money.'

I waited for her to say more. ‘We can trial it for a while to see how you like it,' I said hopefully.

‘I wonder how it would work with my non-detector spell. No good having a receptionist that no-one can see,' Roxanne exclaimed.

‘But if there is a need for you to be seen won't that influence the spell?'

‘That's true, it might. Do you really have a need for me to be there?'

‘More than you know, Roxanne. I would really like some company,' I said honestly.

Roxanne's expression changed. She smiled kindly. ‘That's settled it then. I'll join!'

And just like that I found a receptionist for Lost Souls.

I was walking to uni to hand in an essay after my talk with Roxanne when I felt my phone buzz in my pocket. I was keeping it very close to me, just in case.

It was a phone number I didn't recognise. The voice that greeted me when I answered made my heart do an unusual little somersault.

‘I hope you don't mind me ambushing your friend for your number,' Will said cheerily.

‘I didn't realise it was an ambush! I would have warned her otherwise.' I smiled.

He chuckled. A heavy truck went past on the road heading for the Yarraville oil refinery and I couldn't hear what he said next. I scowled at the receding truck.