Out of Luck by Julie Steimle (to read list .txt) 📕

waggled his finger at the fake drunk. “I only owe you one. It is three wishes per turn. And no one made any wishes with me since you.”
“Why you….” The man practically squeezed the leprechaun till his face was almost as green as his clothes. However this drunk cooled down and glared with a sinister look on the guy. “Ok, fine. My last wish.”
I didn’t care what his wish was. I had to stop this. The whole idea that some large bully was going to make this little man do some dirty work for him made me so angry, I almost wanted to bite him. Jumping away from the window across my room, I yanked open the door and dashed down the hall to the stairs.

“I wish for a beautiful, young woman to fall madly in love with me and do everything I tell her to. That I would have no problems with her family or any other legal matters.”
“Is that really what you want?”
“Yes. Give it to me.”

“Granted.” I saw the little man say that as I dashed through the open door.
The drunk turned and stared at me. “Not her!”
The leprechaun snickered, slapping his little fingers over his mouth. “No. Of course not, silly. My magic cannot influence her. She has no luck.”
I could see the relief go across the drunk’s face. He stepped back from me as if to escape with the little man in-fist. I marched over to them both, clenching my own fists.
“Give him to me right now!” I shouted.
“No.” The man pulled back, holding the leprechaun near his chest. “You can’t have him.”
“You can’t either!” I lifted my fist as if to punch him. He was taller than me though, and I knew my only advantage would be to reveal myself for what I was and frighten him to death. “You can’t use people that that!”
He smirked. “He’s not a person.”
I bared my teeth, so tempted to bite him now. In fact, my imps were shouting for me to do it.
I heard the front door slam. “Hey! Is anybody home?”
Turned around to see Dawn come in and cross to the open back yard door, carrying a bundle of stuffed animals as she said she would. “Hey, Eve. You cannot believe the luck I had today. I not only won all the grand prizes in the booths, but I also won one of those—”
But she did not finish telling me what she had won. Dawn stared straight ahead at the man holding the leprechaun. She dropped everything at her feet, leaving a mounding pile around and she crossed straight to him.
“Who are you?” She didn’t sound upset though. Her voice took on that pathetic romantic sound I heard once or twice in Jane’s voice when she talked about my brother.
The man’s face spread into an expression of delight. “Beautiful, but isn’t she very young?”
“You asked for young,” the little man in his hand said.
I blinked. “Oh, you didn’t! You didn’t wish for my sister—”


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Publication Date: 02-15-2010

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