Two

Kahlan's POV 

  "You came for me? I don't understand."

  The figure glanced around before pulling down its hood. It was a he, a man, not a lanky kid like I had expected. 

  "What? You had assumed me to be a friend of the dead boy?"

  I sighed. Somewhat, yes.

  But he looked well in his thirties, cut from a refined gait even in his hoodie, with his hair far too smooth for someone who ran that fast.

  "If you aren't one of Callahan's tow-buds, then who exactly are you?"

  He moved closer, a small smile stretching his lips.

  “My name is Derek,” he said finally.

  The woods around us rustled with the wind, he didn’t look winded from the chase, at all. If anything, he looked like he had all the time in the world, like I was the one who had just been caught.

  “And why the hell are you following me, Derek?” I asked, my fists shoved deep into the pockets of my hoodie, fingers pressing against the gloves, I could feel my blood boil literally.

  His gaze deviated to my hands.

  “You don't know why?,” he asked.

  I barked a laugh. “No. Actually, I don’t. All I know is that some creep in a hoodie has been stalking me around town for weeks and now suddenly decides to introduce himself in the middle of the woods. That doesn’t scream sanity, Derek.”

  He tilted his head.

  “You killed him, didn’t you?”

  The words were dropped casually, like the weather, but they split my nerves open like tempered glass.

  My throat tightened. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Callahan Ortiz,” he continued, stepping closer, voice low and steady. “You touched him, he convulsed, died, and you...ran."

  I gulped, fingers shaking, but it wasn't due to the cold. How the fuck did he know?

  “You– you weren’t there. You didn’t see–”

  “I didn't have to see.” His smirk was cold. Knowing. “I could feel your trigger the moment it went off and–”

  My chest heaved. “Stop talking like you know me.”

  “I do know you,” Derek murmured, his smile widening, wolf-ish. “I know what you're capable of, your triggers, the reason for them, the source of them.”

  "And how exactly do you know all of that?" 

  "Because I run an academy with people just like you." 

  "An academy?"

  "Not just any academy." His hands crossed behind his back, a proud grin on his face. "It goes by many names, but its most popular one is Ravenside. It is an academy of the four clans, for the four clans.”

  He gestured vaguely around us. “In the heart of a territory deeper than this." 

  I stepped back, cautiously, just in case I needed to run .

  "And what exactly are these four clans?"

  "The Werewolves. The Vampires. The witches. And.... the dragon riders. I am the only shape shifter." 

  My laugh came out, half hysterical. 

  “Werewolves? Vampires? Witches? Dragon riders?” I repeated, like he had just offered me the script of a bad movie plot. “And you’re telling me this with a straight face?”

  Derek didn’t flinch, he didn’t even blink. 

  “I don’t tell jokes, Kahlan. Especially not about something as important as this. I do understand though that this might be a lot for you to take in”

  I forced a scoff, even though my palms were damp in my gloves. “Right. And let me guess, Hogwarts sent you here to recruit me?”

  “Hogwarts is fictional, no?”, he actually paused to contemplate it. What kind of fuckass situation was this? “Ravenside is older than kingdoms, older than every church bell you have ever heard. And you, Kahlan, you are one of us.”

  I scoffed.

  “One of what?”

  “A rider….A dragon rider”

  I shook my head, laughing again like it was a bad joke and I was in a dream. 

  “That’s.....no. No, no, no. I’m not– look, whatever happened with Callahan was some freak accident. I don’t–”

  But I stopped myself. Because even as the denial left my lips, I was uncomfortable in my own skin…my blood was boiling. All I wanted was the satisfaction I felt when Callan died but I was not a killer.

  I took a deep breath to calm my nerves and my eyes met with Derek. He noticed. Of course he did. 

  " You feel like your blood is boiling, you're uncomfortable in your own skin…. Your life is at risk Kahlan, that's why I've come for you."

  My brow arched.

  He continued.

  "The people around you are at risk too. And as your father I…" 

  "What?" 

  I nearly choked on my own saliva. 

  His smile turned slightly sheepish.

  "I'm sorry you had to find out like this I wanted to—"

  "Tsk," I interrupted him mid-speech, his smile fading. "This weird plot has gone too far. What was I even thinking, I should've left the moment you started talking about the Raven whatever. You’re just a perverted crackhead spouting rubbish." 

  He opened his mouth to speak but I was already turning away.

  "I reckon you won't bother following me anymore, since you have an idea of what my touch can do."

  ~~~~~

  The door creaked open as I shoved my keys into the lock. My gloves were still glowing faintly, damn traitors, and I’d already rehearsed the speech I’d give my aunt, something about stalkers, delusional men, and me needing pepper spray.

  Except the moment I stepped in, the sound of laughter, her laughter coupled with someone else's froze me mid-step.

  Aunty Mae sat comfortably on the couch, tea in her hand, and across from her was Derek. The strange-stalker.

  “What the hell is he doing here?”

  Aunty Mae blinked up, as if I had just interrupted a pleasant book club. “Oh, sweetheart. You’re home. Finally.”

  “Why is the stalker who harassed me in the woods sitting in our living room, drinking tea?”

  Aunty Mae sighed, setting her cup down on the table.

  “Kahlan, listen to me carefully. Derek told me everything."

  “So you already know that he is a delusional creep that claims to be my father?"

  “Kahlan. Please, sit.”

  Against my better judgment, I did.

  “He is not lying to you.”

  I scoffed, shaking my head. “You’re kidding me, right? Aunt Mae, you......you of all people know my parents are dead you said yourself —”

  “You think I would bring a stranger into this house, pour him tea, and laugh at his stories if I didn’t know the truth?”

  Derek leaned forward, voice low, infuriatingly calm. “I told you the truth. You are not safe out there. And neither is anyone around you.”

  “Shut up,” I snapped, glaring at him before turning to Mae. “Please. Please don’t tell me you’re buying into this. He told me about some ‘academy,’ some fantasy about dragons and witches and goddamn vampires—”

  “Because it’s real. Kahlan, it is real." Her eyes dimmed. " I should’ve told you sooner."

  "Aunt Mae...." 

  I didn't even know what to say. My whole world had been upturned. What could I say?.

  “Sweetheart, Yes I raised you I found you on my doorstep. But after I took you in, someone was always sending us money. He sent gifts once a year so I knew it was your birthday”, she paused and sighed before continuing. “When you were eight, you got mad at me because I took away your bike, you touched me and well.”

  She removed her jacket and showed me her back. Those black veins on Callan, she had them on the side of her back, running haphazardly along her obliques.

  “ I didn't know he had been watching us, I was so scared of you till he showed up and explained. I don't know much but I know you can't live a normal life here especially now your abilities are fully active…. If you stay here, if you keep pretending nothing is wrong, you’ll accidentally end up hurting someone, again. Yes, I know about the boy in your school…..”

  I found this difficult to believe, but at the same time, not. It didn't make sense, but it seemed to be the only thing that MADE sense.

  “Why tell me all this now?”

  “Because you’ve triggered your powers.” Derek answered smoothly.

  Mae reached for my hand but she stopped midway. She knew. That was why she let me be over the past month. She hadn’t touched me, or even tried to.

  “Baby, I can’t protect you from this or teach you how to control your abilities. But he can.”

  Tears stung the back of my eyes. “So what, I just…leave with him? Walk away from everything I know because he shows up with a bedtime story and you confirm it?”

  “It’s not a bedtime story Kahlan,” Aunt Mae whispered. “If you want to control what you are, keep the people around you and yourself safe, then you have to do this.”

  She kept speaking, talking about the real threats, and I so badly wanted to say no and tell her how fake her story sounded. But what had been happening to me wasn't a story, neither was it made up …it was real and I realised;

  I had no choice.