Luck of the Irish (2 page)

Death would have been too kind an end.

**N
ew York City—Present Day**

“Maggie O’Malley, what is up with your weird obsession about finding this mirror?” Alex, her best friend and former college roommate, laughed out loud and shook her head full of ebony curls. “Seriously? Ever since I’ve known you, you have been totes obsessed. What gives? I finally get you out of your apartment for some social time and what happens? You have dragged me all over the city and into dusty, old shops. We are supposed to meet the girls for drinks, but at this rate we’ll never make it on time and they’ll be hammered before we even get there.”

Maggie linked her arm through Alex’s and tugged her back toward the little antique shop on King Street. A brisk and unseasonably cold March gust blew over them as she hugged her friend’s arm and gave her a pleading look.

“It’s St. Patrick’s Day and knowing those two, they’re probably already hammered. Please? Come on.” Maggie stuck out her lip in an overly ridiculous pout. “I swear this is the last one and then we can head straight over to the bar
and
the first round of drinks is on me.”

“Oh, fine.” Alex rolled her large, blue eyes as Maggie yanked open the door to the tiny shop. “But this is not how a couple of cute, twenty something women are supposed to spend St. Patrick’s Day. We should be looking for hot, single guys not weird, old mirrors. I finally get you out of your apartment and you drag me to old, used furniture stores.”

“You’re the best!” She pressed a quick kiss to Alex’s cheek. “And really, this is the last
antique
shop I’ll ever drag you into. And for the record, if the story Aunt Lizzie told me is true, then there is a guy involved... sort of.”

“Yeah, right.”

Maggie stepped into the tiny shop and pulled off her red, knit hat and gloves as she let out a sound of awe. The place was covered with all kinds of stuff and was basically her idea of heaven. From floor to ceiling, there was barely an inch that didn’t have one trinket or treasure filling its space. If it weren’t for a carefully carved out path between vases, shelves, and side tables, no one would be able to move around and actually look at anything.

She made a mental note to come back another time and really dig in because she could only imagine the treasures that were buried in here. There was nothing she loved more than poking around antique shops and imagining where all the timeworn pieces had been before. Her own life was so boring, and at times unbearably lonely, that it gave her some excitement to make up stories about where an old, tea set had once been or who used the sterling silver brush and comb set she’d found on one of her adventures at a seaside shop.

Maggie let out a soft sigh and surveyed the shelf with a series of porcelain figurines. All of these little knick-knacks had a history, a family who had loved them once upon a time. Until now. And kind of like her, they were alone.

An elderly man, who she could only presume was the owner, sat at the counter in back reading a newspaper. He lifted his eyes from the paper and smiled broadly.

“Have a look around,” he said in low, raspy voice. He adjusted his glasses and waved his hand around at the store’s inventory. “Most everything has a price tag but we like to negotiate, so if you girls see something that catches your fancy let me know.”

“Thank you.” Maggie stuffed her hat and gloves in the pocket of her black, wool coat as she strolled through the long, narrow space. “I will.”

“This places stinks,” Alex whispered more loudly than Maggie would have liked. She sidled up behind Maggie and elbowed her playfully. “Seriously. That guy reminds me of the Crypt Keeper and it smells in here... like old books... and socks.”

“Stop it.” Maggie giggled and pressed her finger to her lips. “It does not. It smells like centuries... or lifetimes. I mean, look at all of these things. Think about it, Alex.” She pointed at a massive cuckoo clock hanging to the right. “That clock was in someone’s house and I bet they loved it. I wonder who they were,” she said wistfully. “Everything in here has a story, like people do. That’s what my Aunt Lizzie always said, anyway.”

“They couldn’t have liked their stuff all that much or it wouldn’t have ended up in here.”

“Very funny.”

Trying to ignore her friend’s lack of appreciation for antiques Maggie scanned the room, lingering mostly on the mirrors. Alex was right because she did have an obsession with mirrors. Well, not all mirrors. She was looking for one in particular. She linked her fingers around the chain that always hung at her neck and pulled the amulet from beneath her sweater. She worried the gold disc between her fingers and smiled when the smooth, green, enamel shamrock slid beneath her fingertips with comforting familiarity.

“What exactly are we looking for, again? I know you have a certain one you want to find, right?” Alex asked with waning patience. “An oval mirror with—

“With a gilded frame,” Maggie finished for her. “And with this same shamrock design right at the top.” She held up the amulet as she studied the various items and she spun around to inspect the other side of the store. “Aunt Lizzie said that according to an old story this amulet had a mirror that went with it. When I was little she used to tell me all about it and the woman was
convinced
it was a
magic
mirror. She loved to tell a good story.”

“Who was she anyway? Your dad’s sister or your mom’s?”

“Neither.” Maggie peered at a delicate plate that looked like it was made of lace. “She was more like an old, family friend. You know, one of those people you call an aunt or an uncle but they aren’t actually related. She was a good buddy with my grandmother and every time I saw her she talked about the magic mirror. Well, she told lots of stories, but that one was her favorite... and mine. When she passed away, she left me this necklace in her will. I can only assume it was because I liked the story so much.”

“A magic mirror?” She arched a dark eyebrow at her friend. “Like Snow White? ’Cause it didn’t work out well for her. She got banished to the woods with a bunch of little dudes and then ate a poisonous apple. Not good.”

“No.” Maggie shook her head as she recalled the tale. “According to the story the mirror is enchanted, but the magic can only be accessed when the necklace and the mirror are united. The amulet is a key or something.”

“Enchanted? What, so you get like three wishes? Because if that’s the deal please wish for two rich, hot guys on a tropical island and take me with you.”

“Actually there are three wishes involved, but you only get them if you free the leprechaun from his prison, or you can command him to take you to his gold.”

“Leprechaun” Alex’s face wrinkled with disgust. “Gross. A little, elf man? Every story I’ve ever heard about leprechauns makes them sound like evil, little buggers, and all they are concerned about is protecting a pot of gold. Why couldn’t it be a hot vampire or something? The three wishes and the gold sound pretty good, though. I’d take the gold because then I could buy the stuff I would have wished for.”

“Not me. I’ll take the three wishes. Now, do you want to hear the rest or not?”

“Fine.” She rolled her eyes and held up both hands. “Sorry. Go ahead.”

“Like I was saying, the leprechaun was banished to the mirrored world by a powerful warlock. His daughter had fallen in love with the leprechaun, much to his dismay.”

“Why?” Alex asked with genuine curiosity. “I mean, why was he pissed?”

“I don’t know,” Maggie giggled. “I guess warlocks and leprechauns, who are actually fairies, didn’t socialize normally.”

“Wait.” Alex gave her a quizzical look. “If a leprechaun is a fairy then why are they called leprechauns? What’s the diff?”

“I don’t know, but if I ever meet one I’ll be sure to find out. Anyway, soon after she ran off with him she got pregnant and died in childbirth. The father blamed her lover for her untimely death and locked him away so he could do no more harm. Supposedly, only the person with the amulet can free him and in turn he will grant his rescuer three wishes, or they can demand to take his gold.”

“What happened to the baby?”

“I don’t know.” Maggie frowned. “Aunt Lizzie always changed the subject when I asked about that. Maybe it died and she didn’t want to tell me that part?”

“Okay, that’s a great story unless you’re the leprechaun dude in prison, or the dead girl.” Alex pulled out her cellphone and started texting someone. “But I mean, jeez, it’s just a fairytale. You and I both know that there’s no such thing as magic or leprechauns.”

“I know, but my Aunt Lizzie said that leprechauns don’t live in the human world, they live in the fae dimension and that’s why there aren’t any leprechauns around here most of the time.”

There was more to the story, but Maggie felt kind of silly talking about the magic words to release the leprechaun. Not because she thought it made the story sillier, but because if she ever did find the mirror she sure as hell was going to say them. She knew that Alex thought the whole thing was bogus and Maggie couldn’t bring herself to admit that there was a part of her that believed the whole damn thing. That made her either crazy or a total romantic.

She was probably both.

“Girl, please,” Alex snorted. “Leprechauns?”

“I know... it’s a silly story.” Maggie let out a slow breath, her shoulders sagging as it appeared she was once again going to come up empty handed. “I always loved it though and it reminds me of my family... makes me feel close to them.”

Her voice trailed off and tears stung her eyes, but she willed them away. Bawling in the middle of an antique store on St Paddy’s day was not part of the plan. Maggie was an only child and she’d lost both her parents within a year of each other, not long after college graduation. When Aunt Lizzie passed away last summer the urge to seek out the mirror had become something of an obsession. She knew it was unlikely that there actually was a mirror like that, let alone a magical one, but it was fun to fantasize about it. Not only that, it really did make her feel closer to her family and less lonely.

She had Alex and some casual co-worker friends at the office, but it wasn’t the same. Come Christmas or Thanksgiving they had big festivities to go to, full of aunts, uncles and cousins, but not Maggie. They always invited her to join them and she even went to Alex’s house once for the holidays, but it felt awkward. Maggie hated feeling like a charity case, and the inevitable pity-party looks of oh-that-poor-girl. From then on she opted for staying home and watching old movies instead. Escaping into fantasy for a few hours seemed like a much healthier option, even if maybe it wasn’t.

To add insult to injury she found out she wouldn’t be able to have children. Alone and defective. Awesome.

“Hey.” Alex’s voice, soft and edged with tenderness, drifted over Maggie’s shoulder and pulled her from her memories. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be so freaking insensitive.” She linked her arm through Maggie’s and bumped her hip playfully before dragging her toward the man at the counter and shouting, “Hey, mister?”

“Yes?” The elderly man peered at them over his crooked, black-rimmed glasses.

“You have any other mirrors around here?” She winked at Maggie. “Maybe an oval one with a gilded frame with a shamrock on it?”

“Alex,” Maggie said slowly. “It’s fine. Come on, let’s go. I’m sure—”

“As a matter of fact, I do.”

Arm in arm the women stopped dead in their tracks and gaped at the man with open mouths.

“You do?” Maggie and Alex said in unison.

“Yes, ma’am. I’m Darby, by the way.” The old man placed his newspaper on the counter and carefully pushed himself off the stool. Maggie thought she actually heard his bones creak, but then again it might have been her stifling a shriek of excitement. “Right back here. We acquired this piece
years
ago at an estate sale and it’s always surprised me that nobody picked it up. It’s really unusual, and in all my years in the business I’ve never seen another like it.”

“No way,” Maggie whispered through trembling lips. She clenched the amulet tightly and excitement shimmied up her back. “Is he serious?”

Darby’s stooped over form headed toward the back, right corner of the shop. He hitched up his gray trousers and waved for them to follow. Maggie’s heart raced and she clung to Alex, still not wanting to believe it was really the piece she’d been searching for. If it wasn’t, the disappointment might be more than she could bear.

However, as they rounded the corner and the mirror came into view all doubts vanished and Maggie’s breath rushed from her lungs on a shuddering gasp. She slipped her arm from Alex’s and moved toward the long, sought after object of her obsession. After all these years and countless antique shops... she had finally found it.

It was smaller than she’d expected, but there was no mistaking it or the emblem with the gold shamrock fixed at the top—the one that matched her necklace. The only difference was that hers was green enamel and the mirror’s was entirely gold.

“That’s it,” she whispered. “Oh my God. It’s exactly like Aunt Lizzie described it. It’s a little smaller than I thought it would be but look.” She pointed to the top of the frame with one hand and held up her amulet with the other. “It has the same emblem embedded in gold. This is it. Alex, it has to be. I can’t believe we actually found it.”

“Are you sure? That one doesn’t have any green on it.”

“Yes.” Maggie nodded. She was absolutely certain that this was the mirror she’d been searching for all these years. “No doubt about it.”

“Awesome.” Alex clapped her hands and jutted her thumb to the front door of the shop. “Let’s get it and get out of here. Beers await.”

With the amulet clutched in her fist, Maggie pressed it against her pounding heart and inched closer to her reflection. She squinted and touched her face, which seemed different somehow. It was
her
reflection, the same one she’d looked at all her life, but she looked brighter or something... more alive. Her long, honey blonde hair hung loose around her oval shaped face, and her eyes which she always thought of as mossy green looked more like a pair of glittering emeralds. It was as though the mirror had photo shopped her into someone shiny and beautiful, as opposed to lonely and dull.