Beyond Far Away

- Chapter five –

"Our life is composed greatly from dreams, from the unconscious, and they must be brought into connection with action. They must be woven together." (Anais Nin)

Asheron

As Michael stepped out of the car, a strange feeling set in. He was rather excited to meet Sebastian in that ridiculously grand mansion of his, however, the boy had been feeling very anxious, ever since he had awakened with the drawing. It had happened yesterday and the young man was still convinced he had somehow done it in his sleep. But that couldn't have happened because he had never had the sketchbook in the first place. On the other hand, either Michael was a narcissistic artist or Adriana actually did exist. And no matter how his heart sputtered at that thought, it still made him shake his head in disbelief.

"No way I'm admitting to myself that she's real," Michael spoke to no one in particular and walked towards the door. "Because if she is real, then in some twisted way the dreams are also not just dreams. So... no."

He was nearly at the door when it opened. Just in time he finished his monologue to smile at another young man, who stood in the doorway. Sebastian Devin was a very old and very experienced hunter. Michael greatly looked up to him. Once he had been the head of the Supervision Department, unluckily his brother's death shook the man quite a lot and he resigned. The hunter did not look old at all, however. He was in his late thirties, muscular and tall. Both Devin family members shared unique lavender eyes, soft yet defined features and an arrogant aura. Sebastian, however, had a darker skin colour and blond hair. All in all, he looked more like a handsome uncle than a great-grandfather.

"Hello, Sebastian." Michael greeted, knowing that his ancestor disliked unnecessary formalities.

There was a pause and Mr Devin went deadly pale. He sounded very eager on the phone, hearing that he was about to meet his great-grandson, so this was unanticipated. The demon raked his hands through blond hair and stepped towards his grandchild. The man looked angry and afraid.

"It's impossible. It just cannot be! I saw what was left of your body! You can't be alive, Michael!" Sebastian started in a whisper, but eventually began yelling.

This scared the living daylights out of the young boy. Last time he checked, everything was in place and he was breathing quite regularly.

"Um, I don't know what you're talking about," Sebastian flexed his jaw. "I am here to-"

Sadly, Michael didn't get to finish his sentence as his great-grandfather punched him. Hard.

"What the hell?!" The young boy growled, spitting blood. "Have you gone nuts, old man?!"

"No skin-walker has been brave enough to pull such a stunt, but I guess there's a first time for everything." The demon stood there dangerous and pissed.

"Listen to me first!" The younger Devin hissed as his elder lifted a foot, preparing for a kick. "I called you, remember? I came here to talk to you about the school project!"

Sebastian was stunned.

"You're my grandson?"

"Who else did you think I was?" Michael was now back to his feet, wiping off blood.

"Bloody hell, I thought..." The blond started looking the boy up and down. "You look just like him."

"Who?" Ah, the man knew how to hit. The jaw really hurt.

"Let's go inside, get you some ice... and tequila." The demon was still very shocked by the whole situation, but decided to help the boy before explaining. This was either a creepy coincidence or a very powerful spell at work.

Once they were both settled, Sebastian sent a maid to prepare his study and led Michael to one of the gathering rooms. It was a large chamber with brown marble floor and two gigantic windows covered in heavy drapes. There was a long wooden table with a dozen of fancy chairs. Mr Devin was known for leading strategic meetings and extravagant parties. Not to mention, he knew how to enjoy an evening with beautiful women. Therefore, many leaders' portraits adorned cream walls along with those of lightly clad women. His purple eyes and seductive smirk made any girl weak in the knees (including someone we all know very well), but he also held authority and could be very imposing.

"Sit." Sebastian commanded and pulled a chair for himself. "Now, what is it that you came here for?"

"Not so fast, I really am more interested as to the way you treat your grandchildren. Do you assault them all?" Michael plopped into a seat across the table.

"I'll explain a bit later. Let's discuss the initial purpose of your visit." Two alpha males in one room with different intentions. O-oh.

Ten minutes of tense silence and Michael decided to give in. He was younger and less stubborn... sometimes. His glass was still half full, luckily the aching had dulled.

"In school, I've been assigned a project," Lie. "I am supposed to research one of the famous hunters and write a report on them. I decided your brother should do quite well." Lies. "I heard he had died like a hero or something." Now that one was true.

"Do you know anything about my sibling?" Sebastian seemed bitterly amused.

"No, not really." The boy admitted. There was no need to sugar coat this.

"Well, let's begin with the fact that you both are Michaels." Yeah, that surprised the young man. "Your mother – my grandson's wife - thought it would be nice, since you both had black hair and purple eyes. He was also an inspirational figure in the hunter society." He glanced at Michael. "Actually, you are a spitting image of my brother. It is the reason I reacted the way I did today. "

"I see," It was a bit awkward to resemble a dead man, but the young boy had something more to find out, so he pushed it aside. "I was actually wondering if you could tell me about the omnivorous selkie your brother faced. I read there was an interesting story behind it."

Michael didn't even realize what he had said until his great-grandfather went pale once more. Once he thought about it, it wasn't mentioned anywhere that Sebastian's brother took out the siren. He simply presumed so because of the dreams he had been having. I mean, it would make sense to dream of his ancestor's life. His grandmother most probably had told him stories about it.

"You've read about it?" The demon cleared his throat and propped his chin on both hands. "What else do you know?"

There was nothing to lose, right?

"Hmm, I think his partner was this girl, Adriana Vervloet," Sebastian went even paler. "They were assigned by Xanthus and pretty much screwed the mission up, because your brother went out alo -"

"That's enough. Where did you get all of this information from?!" Mr Devin was incredibly confused, looking at the boy as if he was a ghost.

"I read it in some books." Michael shrugged, not impressed. Most probably his great-grandfather was angry at him speaking total nonsense. "I know that there can be made up facts, so I wanted you to straighten things out for me."

"Made up? Listen to me, boy. I don't know what you are trying to pull, but tell me who gave you this information."

"I told you! I read it-"

"Do not lie, Michael! These facts were never released to the public and few - nine people in total - knew that Adriana had been involved! Either you tell me the truth or I will go and drag it out of you with a poker."

'Did he just threaten me?!'

"You know what, Sebastian. I don't care. You punch me, yell at me and now I'm some sort of a villain?! I'm out." The boy grabbed his jacket he had hung on the chair and walked towards the door. Unsuccessfully.

The demon telekinetically pinned Michael against the wall, staying as still as a statue. A painting of an old and wrinkly man swayed dangerously, but the younger Devin paid no attention. He pushed himself off of the creamy surface and charged at the blond with childish aggression. To both of their surprise, the black-haired man was faster than one would expect. And stronger. In a flash he was wrestling with Sebastian, trying to sneak in a punch through impeccable defence. The blond was better, of course, and within minutes had the descendant restrained.

"Talk." The winner growled.

"Go to hell."

That's when something else, completely unexpected happened. The centuries old male burst into laughter. He freed Michael, still snickering and returned to his seat, motioning to the boy to do the same.

"You are literally identical." The man finally explained, wiping tears off of his eyes and readjusting a black wrist watch.

Michael just sat there, silent, firmly planted to the smooth floor.

"You really need to tell me how you know about Adriana and my brother. "

"You won't believe me."

"Try me."

'Wow, cliché.'

The young man groaned, knowing that he had to tell somebody about the dreams, those weird hallucinations, the sketch. However, was Sebastian, a man he hadn't seen in years, really that somebody?

"Fine. Just don't send me to an asylum."

"No promises."

And so he explained. Everything.

****

"DUCK!" Adriana yelled from the bushes and fired. The arrow cut through the humid air and pinned the phoenix to the blooming Dormifructus.

"What the hell, woman?!" This affirmed his catch phrase. "Are you nuts?! That arrow could have pierced right through my heart!"

"Oh, boo hoo. You'll live. How are the burns?"

The bird had wounded Michael quite heavily, leaving patches of angry red skin all over his hands and face. Adriana crouched by him and blew a lock of pearl blonde hair. She had dyed it for two reasons: fun and to infiltrate the nymph society. Their recent assignment was to investigate the fires in the Sun Tribe. Michael played the role of an attractive slave, making the whole experience even more entertaining. To Adriana, that is.

"You said it yourself, I'll live." His voice was muffled by the cloth placed to chapped lips.

This was the first time Michael Devin had been that dehydrated. The fact that (to conceal his species) he hadn't fed recently did not help at all. The two hunters had been having a silent competition on who will figure out the other's race and the boy had no intentions to lose. So he didn't feed and now was regretting it very much. He could feel his fangs lengthening and muscles twitching in anticipation as the huntress approached him. Most probably she hadn't even noticed it, but her right side had a tear and it was bleeding.

"Hey, we need to get out, Mike." God, he hated that nickname. "Are you feeling nauseous or something?"

"Step away from me, Adriana. I need some personal space."

'Shit!'

As soon as the girl heard the lisp she yanked his hand away and glared at the two fangs, ready and willing to sink into her flesh. There had been moments when Michael watched the huntress tear a troll apart with her bare hands in fury, when she jumped from a cliff to chase after a harpy that took their journey's food supply, but the anger he witnessed now... Well, it did not comfort the boy at all. Her small feminine nose scrunched in annoyance and for a moment looked quite adorable.

"You are a vampire and you didn't even consider telling me?"

"I did consider, but decided against it." Michael tried amusing her.

That did not work.

"Just shut up and drink." She was even more furious, but it was obvious that the young man could barely focus on anything but the blood.

Michael hesitantly took her wrist and much more eagerly pierced the skin, enjoying the thick and rich taste of the girl's blood.

"It's not like you ever told me what creat-..." He grumbled, earning a swift 'shut up' from his snack.

As he drank more and more of the red liquid, his senses became sharper and the deliciousness of the blood startled the vampire. Who knew that such an annoying girl could make such a satisfying beverage? He finally pulled away and glanced at the woman, who was silent and certainly fuming. As he let go of her wrist there was a pause before they both stood up and marched back to the tribe.

"Thank you for the meal."

Adriana just sent a death glare in his direction.

Earth

The girl awoke annoyed with the world. Why did she have to get up so early? Why did she have to get up at all? It was Saturday for the love of God! Oh, wait. That's right; she had promised Suzanne to go to the museum together. They were working on a project together and the new exhibition seemed promising as a source of information. All in all, Adriana had another dull day to look forward to. That is, if no handsome boys had plans to materialize in front of her and steal her drawings. Speaking of which, she had to buy another sketchbook.

"Honey, me and your dad are going now, lock the door!" Mrs Ellison yelled from downstairs, reminding Adriana that they had a romantic four-day-vacation planned.

Left on her own the red-head quickly looked at the calendar. 20th of December didn't seem all that promising. She dressed up, ate breakfast and quickly cleaned the house. Suzanne still hadn't called. Cursing her friend's tardiness Adriana sprawled out on a sofa and closed her eyes, expecting the sleep to embrace her like a mother would. It did not and the girl was left with nothing, but darkness and her thoughts.

As though knowing what was about to happen, she concentrated all her thoughts on the young man from her dreams. She remembered his scent (the aroma of ice, metal and some sort of foreign spice), his pale skin, black hair that framed the masculine face with pleasantly thin pink lips, defined cheekbones and fierce violet eyes. Adriana thought of his lips on her wrist, his warm or irritating laugh - depending on the situation - and everything that came to mind. And suddenly, she was no longer home.

****

"It's like I've known her for centuries. We've been working as partners and I'm pretty sure at some point we became friends..." Michael trailed off once Adriana opened her eyes and smiled behind Sebastian. "And she's pretty much behind you."