A Hero's beginning

Chapter 22

After last week's events I decided to go to the market and buy some Christmas gifts for Kayla, Luke, and my friends. I pulled on my gray denim jacket and headed out. The market consisted of several stalls and a few carts. It attracted several merchants, farmers, and pickpockets. Kayla had taught me how to tell when someone tries to pickpocket you and Luke had taught me how to judo-flip said pickpocket. I walked through the aisles and picked up a gift for each of my friends. An enchanted toolbelt for David, a triangular bladed dagger for Grace, a hatchet for Jackson, and a golden conch shell pendant on a silver chain for Trinity. The hardest person to find a gift for was Madelynn but eventually I decided to get her a light blue star-shaped locket. I kept looking around for a while trying to find something for Luke and Kayla when a man dressed in all black ran towards me with an old woman's purse in his hands. I summoned my wand, pointed it at him and shouted "Isa!" encasing one of his feet in ice. I snatched up the purse and returned it to the woman he had stolen it from. I knelt down next to the thief. "Didn't your mother ever tell you it's wrong to steal?" I asked before I summoned Hunter who growled at the thief as we walked away. "Shut up you twerp!" he snapped and held his hand towards the ice on his foot and shot fire from his hand, melting it immediately. Stupid fire elemental, I thought, Why he gotta melt my ice? He scrambled to his feet, started running and I turned on my heel, held my hand out towards him and the Christmas garlands at one of the stands flew towards him and tied him up completely and gagged him. "Nice try. Happy holidays!" I said before walking away as the authorities showed up. "Good job kid, we could use more people like you." one of them said as they handcuffed the purse-snatcher. I returned Hunter to pendant form. I got Luke a blue sweater with snowflake designs on it and I got Kayla a green scarf to go with the gloves and hat I got her last year. As I exited the market I summoned Hunter in his giant form and rode him home. Luke's animus, a rainbow macaw landed on Hunter's head a few feet away from my house. "Hi Echo." I said. "Squawk, hi, Squawk" it said. It flew back home and I raced after it. As I approached our house I noticed our neighbors, Mr and Mrs Johnson, hanging some Christmas lights while their five year old twins played in the snow. I waved to them and smiled as I dismounted. Hunter shrank to the size of a puppy and followed at my heels as I walked over to the Johnson's house. You see, Mr and Mrs Johnson didn't have magic which wasn't very uncommon, at least one seventh of Mageia doesn't have magic but the twins did. "Good morning James!" Mr Johnson called from the roof. He was a bulky man who had short black hair and bright blue eyes. His wife, Mrs. Johnson had shoulder length blond hair and green eyes. "Good morning Mr. Johnson." I said. "James!" The twins yelled as they ran towards me. Before I started school I used to babysit the twins for some money whenever I wasn't living with Jackson. Hunter barked excitedly and wagged his tail as the twins petted him. They were identical twin brothers with blonde hair and blue eyes. I had quickly learned the difference between the two of them when I had started babysitting them. I noticed Mr. Johnson having trouble untangling the lights. "Here, let me help." I said. I held out my hand and the lights untangled and hung themselves. "Thank you James, what would I do without you?" he said. "Probably get yourself tangled in Christmas lights." His wife joked. I walked over to my house next door and put the bags of presents on my bed then started to walk back out but I stopped when I noticed a note on the dining room table. It said: Luke and I went to the market to get some stuff - XOXO Kayla. P.S. Luke says we may take a while. I put the note back down on the table and walked outside to get Hunter. I stood in the front door frame, let out a taxi cab whistle and Hunter ran over to me. My friends and I had planned to meet at my place tonight, to go to this year's winter carnival so I needed to make sure I had their gifts wrapped and ready by then. I grabbed some wrapping paper from the closet and used my magic to wrap the gifts. Right as I finished, Kayla walked in with fake reindeer antlers on her head and a shopping bag in her hand. Behind her was Luke, who was carrying at least fifteen bags. "Hey James. Luke set those bags on the table please." Kayla said. She dug through the bag she was holding and took out a small silver ornament. She raised it above her head, aiming at the ground. "Wait a second... Kayla no! Wait until James and I are out of the house before you-" Luke started. She threw it on the ground and it exploded, decorating the entire house in Christmas decorations. I pushed a Christmas tree off me. "What the Hades was that!?" I yelled, spitting out a mouthful of pine needles. "That was just a Christmas bomb. It's a new magic device that can decorate an entire house for Christmas. I also got one for a few other holidays. But, er, it's still in the testing phase." Kayla said. Luke shrugged and gave me a look like, What can you do?. I walked to my room with Hunter at my heels with a Santa hat on his head. I guess not even Animai were immune to the horrors of the Christmas bomb. My room was relatively average sized with a desk covered in papers, pencils, pens, books, a map of Mageia, and a brochure for Legacy academy in the front right corner. There was a closet in the back right corner. The walls were a light blue which matched the sheets of my bed in the back corner. The window next to my bed had its white drapes shut. Thankfully I had enchanted my room to be immune to magic objects so it wasn't affected by the Christmas bomb. In the front left corner of the room was a bookcase and a coffee table with a recliner next to it. Hunter hopped up into the recliner and curled up as I sat down on my bed. I took the ornate silver mirror Madelynn had given me and her face appeared in the glass. "Hey James. I can't wait to meet up with you and the others tonight at the carnival. It's hard to believe that it's only been a week since winter break started." she said. A crash came from behind her and she turned to look at it. "Oh Styx, sorry I gotta go, I'll see you at the carnival." The glass turned dark. I put it on the nightstand next to my bed. I changed into jeans, a light gray hoodie, and black converse high tops. I whistled and Hunter perked up and ran over to me. I took the santa hat off his head and put a blue collar with a silver name tag around his neck. He barked excitedly and wagged his tail as he bounded out of my room. I put an enchanted pouch of coins in my pocket and followed him to see what he was barking about. We ran to the front door where Jackson was waiting. He was wearing a dark green winter jacket over a black sweater and jeans being held up by his gardening belt. "Hey James," he said. "Dude! You made it!" I said as we fist bumped. "Luke! Stop sitting around and help me fix these Christmas cookies!" Kayla yelled. "We better run before she makes us try one." Jackson said before the two of us bolted to the outskirts of the village.