Chapter 3 Good luck charms
Author's note; Summary: Annie and Trish meet a leprechaun who needs help from demons.
Spring was arriving to Florence, the grass was becoming more lush and leaves and buds were starting to appear on the trees.
The Callahans were driving in their Lexus to church one Sunday morning. Trish and her sisters wore their best dresses. Trish wore a pale pink dress with a bubble skirt. Elaine wore a light purple spaghetti strap dress with rhinestones. And Cat wore a red u neck dress.
Mr. Callahan parked the car and they climbed out in the parking lot. People were gathered around to enter the church for the service.
"Hey Trish," said a voice.
Trish and her sisters turned around to see Muffy stepping out of a blue Buick wearing a black dress.
"Hello Muffy," replied Trish smiling.
"How've you been?" asked Muffy. "I've noticed that these past couple weeks you've been feeling cheerful and lively again."
"I'm starting to do much better," admitted Trish. "Ever since the bodies of those stalkers have been found I've been feeling better about everything."
Trish and Muffy's families went inside and took their seats. As Trish listened to the priest as prayers started, she noticed Mrs. Wellington sitting across the aisle from her family.
She was surprised to see Mrs. Wellington, as she had never seen her in the church before. She then remembered on her birthday earlier that year her best friend Susannah Miranda had been killed at the church during a fight with a sidhe. She wondered if she had come to the church to mourn for Susannah.
…
Out in town a young man was playing a guitar in the street. A man walked by, he was a really short man with short dark hair and wore 15th century clothing and held a walking stick in his hand.
The short man waved his stick, a shower of gold sparkles flew on to the man's guitar, but he didn't notice. The music became more clear and even more beautiful. People in the crowd started gathering around and threw a few coins into his case.
The short man smiled and continued to walk through the street.
Suddenly a man stepped up around a corner. He had dark hair and wore a blue button up shirt and a black leather jacket.
"Leprechauns," he said cunningly. "Always thinking they have the greatest power because they bring good luck. But not for long. Demons are about to have the luck."
The demon grabbed hold of the leprechaun's stick. The leprechaun started shaking and collapsed, breathing weakly and let go of the stick.
The demon held out the stick and waved it. A rainbow appeared, he stepped through it and the rainbow disappeared.
…
The next day Annie was leaving school with Trish and Rachel.
"Our music class is studying Celtic music," said Trish. "The drama club is planning on doing a play based on Irish mythology. Cat's been reading a bit about it."
"They do believe in a lot about magic" replied Rachel.
Trish took Annie and Rachel for froyos. Trish paid the lady at the counter and they headed out.
"Vivian told me and my dad something interesting last night," said Annie taking a bite of her strawberry froyo. "As you know Vivian's boss is Brigg Andreeff, the most famous critic in Oregon."
"He owns twenty restaurants all over Oregon," exclaimed Rachel. "Including one here in Florence!"
"He owns this abandoned diner too near the beach," added Annie. "It closed down five years ago and he's had it up for lease since. But yesterday, he was visiting the restaurant Vivian works in and was very impressed by her cooking. So, they're talking about giving her the diner."
"That sounds amazing," cried Rachel. "Vivian's a great cook you know, she mentioned she would've loved to have her own restaurant one day."
"I hope it's all good luck" added Trish.
The girls looked ahead and they saw a man limping in the street. He was very short, coming up to only their waists and was dressed in 15th century clothes.
"Are you okay sir?" asked Annie.
The man looked up.
"Thank goodness I found you," he said. he spoke in an Irish accent. "I sensed there were mermaids here."
The girls looked surprise.
"You know we're mermaids?" asked Annie.
"Who are you?" added Rachel.
"I'm a leprechaun," replied the leprechaun. "My name is Finn."
"Leprechaun?" said Trish. "You mean those Irish men who bring good luck?"
"Yes," replied Finn.
"What happened to you?" asked Rachel sympathetically noticing the leprechaun's limp and how he looked like he had been in a fight.
"A demon attacked me," explained. "He stole my cane."
The girls looked at each other in concern.
"Let's go back to my house" Annie suggested.
Rachel and Trish held their arms around Finn and helped him walk to Annie's house.
…
Annie and Rachel sat Finn down on the couch in Annie's living and were sitting on either side of him. Trish came out of the kitchen.
"I just called Irene and Kelsey," said Trish. "They're on their way."
"What does this demon want with a cane anyway?" asked Annie.
"Our canes are our luck powers," explained Finn. "We use them to grant luck to people."
"Who is this demon?" asked Trish.
"It's Haroun," explained Finn. "He hates leprechauns because we bring good luck."
"If Haroun has his cane," said Annie catching on. "He can use it to bring the demons luck, and they'll be powerful against other magic beings."
"What's even worse is that if he has the cane, he can use it to cause bad luck," added Finn worriedly. "And get to the green moors. That's where we live, our canes give us the power to travel around the world. He can get to our gold and kill us all."
The girls all exchanged grave looks.
Just then there was a knock at the door.
Annie answered the door. Irene and Kelsey were there and Annie let them in.
"Hey guys," said Annie. The two girls looked to see Finn sitting on the couch. "This is Finn," said Annie. "He's the leprechaun Trish told you about."
"These are my friends Irene and Kelsey" added Trish.
Trish told them about the demon and the leprechaun's magic.
"So, you see why we have to get the cane back," said Rachel. "Or the demons will control the luck powers and could destroy all of us."
"This Haroun does sound like bad news" admitted Kelsey.
Just then Alex stepped in. He looked surprised to see the girls and Finn all gathered in the living room.
"Hey dad," said Annie. "This is Finn, he's a leprechaun."
"A leprechaun?" he asked.
"Yeah," said Annie. "We're helping him find his magic cane."
"Well," said Alex still sounding puzzled. "Vivian's going over business with Mr. Andreef, so I thought we'd order pizza."
"Thanks dad," said Annie. "We'll be back later."
The girls and Finn went out to look for other leprechauns. They walked down town and they saw another short man dressed in green 15th century clothes and was carrying a walking stick.
"Finn," said the leprechaun. "You're alright. We've heard you've been attacked. We thought you were dead."
"I'm fine Oisin," said Finn. "Hauron took my cane, these mermaids here are going to help. we need you to help us get to the green moors."
The leprechaun waved his cane and a rainbow appeared. The girls looked at each other in surprise and walked inside with Finn and the other leprechaun and they whooshed off.
The girls found themselves flying through the air and the rainbow landed in a moorland. The grass was lush and green and there were flowers. They saw some other leprechauns; they were all short and wore old fashioned clothes.
"This is the green moors," said Finn. "This realm is where we leprechauns live and where we make our gold."
Annie and the others looked down to see a pot of gold coins.
"We've heard you've been attacked by Hauron," said a leprechaun with a short beard.
"He has my cane," said Finn. "I've met these mermaids," he said motioning to Annie, Rachel, Irene and Trish. "They said they'd help us stop him."
"Has he been here yet?" asked Rachel.
"No," said Oisin. "But now that he has a leprechaun's cane, it's only a matter of time before he does show up."
Just then another rainbow came in. In the rainbow a person faded into sight. The girls and the leprechauns stared with horrified at the man that appeared. They realized it was Hauron.
Trish's legs knocked as she saw the demon.
"Hauron" whispered Annie.
"So you leprechauns turned to mermaids to stop me," Hauron taunted. "Leprechauns are so weak, if you can't fight back on your own."
Hauron walked up to Oisin and grabbed his cane and tried to pull it from him, but Oisin pulled back. Oisin shook and suddenly exploded in flames.
The leprechauns and the girls all stared in horror at the sight.
Oisin's cane absorbed in smoke and went into the cane Hauron stole.
"He's absorbing the powers from the cane," whispered on the leprechauns. "It's making the luck powers grow stronger."
Annie, Irene and Trish stood up to fight Hauron. Hauron waved the cane over the pot of gold coins. Three of them flew over and hit the girls. Green light covered the girls chests for a breath moment and then it disappeared.
"What was that?" asked Rachel.
"I put a curse on the gold," declared Hauron. "It's cursed you with bad luck."
Hauron then waved the cane and teleported off in a rainbow.
…
The next morning Irene woke up and flopped out of bed and fell on the floor. Irene groaned and picked herself up. She then looked at herself in the mirror and saw her blond hair was all messed up.
Lydia was making breakfast and Irene came down wearing a hot pink folded collared top and white capris and looking groggy.
"Morning sweetie" said Lydia cheerfully putting a plate of fruit and hashbrowns on the table.
Irene groaned and grabbed an orange slice.
"I think that demon's bad luck curse has come true" she complained. She reached out for the glass of water and suddenly the water shot up like a fountain and went all over Irene's shirt and some fizzed in Lydia's face and they both transformed into mermaid form.
…
Over at Annie's house, Annie came to join her parents in the kitchen. Alex and Vivian were talking as Annie went through the door.
"What's wrong Annie?" asked Alex noticing she looked troubled.
"The demon that stole the leprechaun's cane cursed us with bad luck," explained Annie. "And I think it's coming true, I hit my head falling out of my bed I stubbed my foot on the door frame when I got up."
Annie put some bread in the toaster. She placed her hand on the counter and suddenly the toaster burst in flames. The three gasped and the flames died down.
"Sorry!" exclaimed Annie.
"Don't worry," said Alex. "I'll buy a new one after school."
Annie and Rachel went to school. Parker was waiting for them.
"Hey Annie," he said. "What's wrong?"
Annie and Rachel told him about the leprechauns and the demon who was after them and stealing their powers.
"He cursed me, Irene and Trish with bad luck," explained Annie. "And I think he's right. My powers went out of control this morning. I'm worried about Vivian, with this demon on the lose with luck powers, he'll be controlling luck and if he curses her with bad luck, she might not get the restaurant and you know it's been her dream to open her own restaurant."
"I'm sure everything will be fine," said Parker hugging his girlfriend. "We've always gotten by before."
Just then Irene, Trish and Kelsey arrived.
"How are you doing?" asked Rachel.
"My hair looked awful when I woke up," grumbled Irene. "And my top got wet because my powers made my water go all over us."
"I ripped my dress on the door," added Trish. "My mom said she'd fix it at her boutique though."
The day went by without any trouble, as Annie, Rachel, Irene, Trish and Kelsey left they started talking about what to do.
"Maybe we should go find Cat," said Trish. "She's been reading about celtic mythology, she might know about how to break the bad luck."
…
Out in town, a leprechaun with blond hair was out looking for people to grant luck to. He looked up to see Hauron standing in front of him.
"What do you want?" exclaimed the leprechaun.
"Where are the mermaids?" taunted Hauron. "They can't help you since their cursed with bad luck."
"The mermaids will defeat you," declared the leprechaun. "Finn believes in them."
Hauron waved his hand and the leprechaun exploded in flames leaving his cane on the ground.
Hauron absorbed the powers of the cane into his cane and made a rainbow and teleported off.
…
At Trish's house, Annie, Rachel, Irene, Trish and Kelsey were in the living room with Elaine and Cat. Cat was looking through a book about Irish mythology.
"It says that in folklore, iron, horseshoes, the color red, wearing clothes inside out and four-leaf clovers were good luck and protective charms against fairies and leprechauns" explained Cat.
"Wait," said Irene. "You mean turning your clothes inside out like a poor deadbeat is suppose to protect you from magic beings."
"Well, it's better than being cursed with bad luck" Kelsey pointed out.
Irene walked out of the living room and came back a minute later with her top inside out.
"Thanks Cat," said Trish.
"No problem," said Cat.
Just then the phone on the coffee table rang. Elaine picked it up and answered it.
"It's one of the mermaids from Melora's pod," Elaine said turning to her sister. "She says that Finn showed up at the house. Another leprechaun's been killed!"
The girls all exchanged worried looks.
"You must go and stop Hauron," said Elaine. "Before he kills the other leprechauns."
"We're on our way" said Rachel eagerly.
"Be careful" Elaine called to Trish as the girls hurried back to Annie's.
…
Finn sat on the couch. He was doing much better from Hauron's attack, but he was looking exasperated. Annie and the others arrived.
"Hauron's killed Robert," said Finn gravely. "He braved to leave the moors to grant luck to people. With every cane he absorbs, his powers grow stronger. We have to stop him before he gets us all."
"Don't worry," said Rachel. "We're going to stop Hauron."
Rainbows then started appearing in the house and four leprechauns arrived.
"We've heard about Robert," said a red-haired leprechaun with a beard. "What are we going to do?"
"You've got to fight back against Hauron" explained Annie.
"We can't," sighed another leprechaun. "We're not really fighters."
"If you don't stop him," said Rachel. "He'll keep killing you all, you've already lost a couple of your friends and hurt Finn."
"And he'll have power over luck," added Annie. "I'm worried about my stepmother that he'll curse her with bad luck and she won't get her restaurant."
"The mermaids are right," said Finn standing up. "Hauron must be stopped. We must stand up for ourselves."
"But what can we do?" asked the third leprechaun.
"I have an idea," said Annie holding up a four-leaf clover. "I found this in the yard."
Just then Hauron appeared in the house.
"Well looks like I've finally got you leprechauns and the mermaids" he said tauntingly.
"You'll never stop us Hauron," declared Annie. "We got you surrounded."
Hauron looked around to see Annie, Rachel, Irene, Trish and the leprechauns were all around him.
The four leprechauns held out their canes and showers of gold sparkles flew from them and struck the girls.
Hauron unleashed a ball of fire at the girls. Rachel stopped it and send it flying back at him and struck him. Hauron fell over.
Hauron picked himself and unleashed another ball at fire at the bearded leprechaun destroying him.
Before Hauron could pick up the cane. Annie shocked him with her lightning powers. Hauron screamed in pain and fell to the ground. Trish then grabbed Finn's cane and grabbed Hauron by the arm and waved the cane. A rainbow flew down on the two and they teleported off.
"Where did they go?" cried Irene.
"I don't know" said Annie worriedly.
…
The rainbow flew down on the parkin lot outside the church. She hadn't been so sure where to go, but she had to think fast.
"Give me that cane" growled Hauron weakly. Trish ran on to the grass and watched as Hauron crawled weakly across trying to grab the cane from her.
He reached out his hand and a couple of fingers touched the grass. Hauron then screamed painfully as smoke started to form from his fingers and they started to crumble into soot.
Trish stared in shock for a moment.
"Of course," she exclaimed to herself out loud. "Bad spirits can't go on holy ground."
Trish smirked and then lifted Hauron up in the air with her telekinetic powers and then threw him on to the grass. Hauron screamed in pain again. Smoke rose from his body as it withered away into ash.
…
Trish returned to the house and explained everything to them. Then she gave Finn back his cane.
"Thank you," he said kindly. "You've really taught us to stand up for ourselves."
"It was nothing," said Annie. "It's lucky we were able to use good luck charms to break the spell."
"You can always count on luck with leprechauns," said Finn.
…
That evening, Annie, Rachel and Parker were hanging out in Annie's house talking about the day's experience when Vivian came in.
"Guess what," she said excitedly. "The paperwork's been finalized, I'll be getting the restaurant!"
"That's so wonderful Vivian" said Annie happily.
"Congratulations Mrs. Yesconis," said Parker.
Alex hugged his wife happily.
"It was certainly good luck," declared Vivian.
Annie looked outside the window and saw Finn watching through the window. The leprechaun blinked at Annie and Annie smiled back at him.
Author's note; This was based on the episode of charmed Lucky charmed.