He caught his own reflection in a shop window. Inside the display there was a coat.
An idea sparked.
Sim was levitating above the street. Where did this idiot go?
Then he spotted him. Confident now, he moved ahead, extended his hand and put it down on Callum's shoulder. "May I help you?" he said mockingly.
The man was surprised. But when Sim turned him around, Sim's own eyes widened in shock.
The backpack Callum had been carrying fell to the ground. It was lying there completely empty. Sim opened the bag with his teeth gritted. Just clothes.
Callum had vanished.
Sim stood alone in the crowd. His fist began to glow with energy.
A little distance away, in a different coat off a different display, face covered, Callum stopped a taxi.
He gave the driver a destination. As soon as they were out among the farms he pulled the fabric off his face and took the back roads. Commercial flights were out of the question while he was being tracked, so he dealt with a crop-dusting pilot instead and sat in a small aircraft. He knew the journey would not be quick, but it would put him down in the middle of nowhere. After saying goodbye to the pilot, he thought about buying new clothes.
Helpful, but not for long.
He stood in front of a mirror with a box in his hand, trying to change his appearance completely. He picked up scissors and started cutting his brown hair. The sink filled up with it. He looked at the new reflection and chose black dye.
Physical transformation complete. Now it was about the paperwork.
Wizards needed mundane documents too. He found a magical pawn shop. Behind the counter was a green, orc-like creature, large lower teeth, pointed ears.
"What do you want?"
"New identity."
The creature bluntly quoted two thousand.
Callum gave him cash and got a new ID. The name on it was Chase Hall. The orc-like attendant smiled at him. This work will do.
As he left, he thought: thirty years I stayed off the Guild's radar without trying. I can do it again.
In a room a long way from there, the agent in glasses was furiously demanding answers. "How did he cross those barriers?"
Sim tried to justify himself. "I had sealed the doors. I didn't think he would jump out of the window."
The hat-wearing Agent John noted the rest of it. There was no magical residue anywhere. It had been a simple, non-magical escape.
Hearing that, the bespectacled agent got even more infuriated. Archmage Duval was not going to accept this. From tomorrow they were supposed to call the man in and start training him.
John commented, "If he knew about the training, then honestly, you can't blame him for running."
The bespectacled agent said sarcastically, "If you found it funny, then you go and tell Duval."
John's face turned pale. He panicked and pointed at himself, but his fate was already sealed. A furious voice echoed from the nearby mansion.
Later, a furious Archmage Duval had John held in a magical grip, up near the neck.
John gasped and said that a massive search was under way. The vampires and the shapeshifters had also been alerted.
Duval was unimpressed.
John theorised. "Maybe he chose a normal life. Learning spatial magic without a mentor is incredibly difficult."
Duval repeated his words back to him with pure disdain. "No one simply stops using magic. Callum is not a mundane. He is a rebel wizard." And she threw John violently to the ground.
He gasped and said the search would continue.
Duval came closer, coldly. "I will pray for your success. If you fail, I will use my own resources."
Her final verdict was short. If Callum Wells had chosen rebellion, then capture him and execute him. Once and for all.
Far away, in the Midwest, a car stopped in front of a small house.
There was a blonde woman standing at the door with a sheriff. Callum got out.
"Have you come to see the property?" the sheriff asked.
"Are you the owners?"
The sheriff explained that the house belonged to his daughter, Jessica. Jessica smiled and waved. He introduced himself: Arthur Langley.
Callum gave his new name. "Chase Hall."
Arthur watched him for a few seconds. Then he shook his hand.
In the kitchen, Arthur asked whether there was real interest in the property.
"The place is nice," Callum said. "Quiet. I'll be busy fixing it up."
Jessica remarked, "You look a little young to be retiring."
Callum gave a smile. "Not retired. I'm just taking a break. Health issues."
Sheriff Arthur crossed his arms.
Jessica said there had been difficulty selling the property. They could not find a buyer at all.
Callum thought that would be better for him.
The next day, Callum sat looking at a bag of money and calculated it out. After the house, there were about two years of living expenses saved.
Right now there was only one goal he could think of. Magic. Learning everything there was, right now. Because if he did not learn, the Guild would catch up with him one day or another.
He looked at the research on the computer screen. All the readings said the same thing: spatial mages were limited to portals and minor enchantments and nothing else. He crossed his hands in front of his face and reflected on that.
Hard to believe.
Learning about spatial magic without being an archmage was basically impossible, and that was the sole authority on it. It showed how monolithic the Guild really was.
He looked out at the open field. He remembered the first time the portal had been made, entirely by accident. From the fire, protecting Mari, out of a subconscious desire, it had manifested.
Now he tried it intentionally.
He concentrated the magic in his hand, and a moment later, on the ground in front of him, the portal opened, surrounded in purple energy.
Callum breathed a sigh of relief. Work done. And here we go, he said in his mind.
He took a step into the portal and came out on the other side of the field. He looked at his clenched fist and celebrated.
The distance was limited. Not bad for a first attempt.
He put a hand on his chin. What else can I do with this?