Chapter 1

 

 

Shamus could feel her need calling out to him.

Despite his current obligations, the urgency of her call made it necessary that he drop everything to assist her. Her need was overwhelming. Dropping his cards down onto the oak poker table, Shamus stood up. He nodded to his four leprechaun associates, "I'm really sorry gentlemen, I have to go."

"I bet you do," his buddy Cass commented dryly from across the table as he rolled his gleaming green eyes. This succeeded in giving the impression to the others that Shamus was trying to pull a fast getaway, before he endured the humiliation of going broke.

Shamus had to admit his pile of gold was starting to look pretty puny in comparison to the other leprechauns at the table, so he could understand them thinking that might be the case. "Well I guess luck wasn't on my side tonight, fellows," he chuckled, throwing up his hands in defeat and giving a gracious bow.

A round of knowing chuckles erupted at the table in response.

"If the lad has to go, he has to go," the eldest of the group, at the ripe old age of three hundred and ninety-seven, stated in his defence. In the case of Mel, three hundred and ninety-seven, looked more along the lines of twenty-five. Tall, dark and handsome, that was how the ladies, both mortal and mystical, described him. Not exactly the normal image to spring into a human's mind when thinking of a leprechaun.

Shamus finished off his beer. The beer at that particular tavern was the best in Leprechaun Valley, so he wasn't about to leave a drop behind. Slamming the beer stein onto the table, he leaned over and snatched up his remaining gold, throwing it into the front pocket of his black trousers. "Until next week, men."

He received a murmur of farewells from the others in response.

Shamus exited 'The Lucky Man's Tavern' and headed for home. 'The Lucky Man's Tavern' was an exclusive leprechaun-only tavern, which he frequented regularly when he wasn't busy with a charge. A charge being the human or humans, to whom he was assigned to bring luck and lead back onto the path of their destiny.

When a human happened to be seriously down on their luck, then the leprechauns could sense it. The mechanics of which leprechaun was paired with which human wasn't really known, even to the elders, but the system worked, so no one bothered to question it.

Her need became stronger with each passing second, making his stomach clench. Part of the reason why leprechauns answered the calls was simply because the calls became increasingly intense, mentally and physically until they were answered. If you wanted some time to yourself to relax you did your job quickly and efficiently. Shamus was thankful he was very good at what he did.

Too bad I don't play poker as well as I take care of my charges, he mused, grinning to himself. He'd be one rich leprechaun if he did. Shamus picked up the pace as he continued to make his way home, anxious to get to work.

He needed to get to his pot of gold. The pot of gold was the key to the leprechauns' communications with the humans' world. It was what some might consider an oracle, of sorts. It told them where their charges could be found and also allowed them to watch the humans with whom they were connected. It not only helped them determine what was causing the human such bad luck, but also, by watching, they could better help to get the humans back on track and fulfilling their destiny.

He hurried inside the small log cabin he called home, taking long powerful strides as he headed for the living room where his pot of gold was kept. Once in the living room he made straight for the left side of the brick fireplace where a large black kettle containing his gold was situated. The kettle was an ancient cast iron vessel, roughly two feet in diameter and two feet high. It was filled with golden nuggets. As he reached the kettle, he fell to his knees in front of it. Touching the rim on either side, he recited an ancient Leprechaun chant which he had learned by heart as a youngster.

The gold nuggets began to liquefy into a thick, metallic broth. Once fully liquefied, Shamus watched as images began to appear within the kettle. Images of a woman appeared, of the woman who needed him so badly.

Shamus's kettle brought to him Suzanne, and so he watched, evaluating the severity of her situation. Sometimes a pinch of gold dust blown in the human's direction from a distance would be enough to get their life back on track. With Suzanne, he felt that her situation would require a more hands-on intervention. When calls came to him with the urgency that hers seemed to have, it meant there was something seriously out of balance in that person's life. As he watched over her throughout the next few days, he began to realize that she perhaps needed more than a little sprinkle. She needed a full blown sandstorm of it!