Old Nick's Imp (a holiday flash fiction story)

"Honey," her dad, the reasoning pastor, extolled. "You know the true meaning of Christmas. It's not Santa Claus and it's certainly not some Shelf Elf summoned by a magic book."
That had been that. Kristy received the harshest punishment dealt out in her household, she was summarily sent to bed without dessert. Her parent's would not hear her childish pleas to believe a little magic still existed in the world... but another entity certainly had.