Prologue

"Come with me," he said, turning on his side to look at her. She was no longer facing him but up, light brown eyes fixated on the ceiling of her room. She seemed to be deep in thought, as if the simple three words he had spoken required some concentrating on. The smile had slowly faded from her face, replaced with an expression that even he could not read clearly.

"You know I can't," she said quietly, pulling her sheets up to cover her body. They had taken a big risk tonight. If her parents caught them together, it would be the last he would see of her.

"You don't like it here," he replied solemnly. "I can tell. I see it in your eyes anytime you speak about your day. Your family, your friends…"

"They don't approve of you."

"For obvious reasons."

"But they don't know." She averted her gaze and finally looked at him, propping herself up on one elbow and resting her head on her hand. "They don't know what you are. What amazing being you are."

"They would have guessed by now," he pointed out, lifting a hand to brush aside a few pieces of hair that were falling in her face. "All the clues are there. They've only met me at night, I never eat around them, and I was quite close to telling them that I was a Nazi during World War II. No further explanation needed." Her mouth twitched and she fought to stay serious, inwardly swooning at his touch. It was evident that she was having a hard time holding back her smile and in mere seconds, gave in. He returned the smile, though it was a small, sad one, hand cupped on her cheek. "I can't stay here forever, no matter how much I want to."

"I know." She breathed out a sigh, placing her hand above his linger one. She was warm and he was cool, two opposites attracting at that very moment.

"So come with me," he urged, "You don't want to be here, you've told me before."

"You can't take me with you."

"I can. But only if you say yes."

Godric opened his eyes. He had dreamt of her again. Like he had for the past few days now. They had tortured him, and it felt like every time he woke up, it was a bit earlier than the previous night. Even if it was not a very long time, it surprised him. Godric had not dreamt of her for many years, ever since she forced him to leave her. They were bits of their past together, ranging from the good times to the bad. Only recently had it begun again. Why, he did not know. But he had an aching suspicion that she was near him.

When he rose from his bed, the sun had already set. Godric did not always get up immediately. Especially now, with the dreams, he lay in bed and contemplated them. For a man of his age, he should have known the answers. She had crawled out of the recesses of his mind and conveniently placed herself in his dreams, torturing him. Godric had pushed her back there. Enough that he refused to say her name even to herself. And though not a day went by where she didn't cross his mind, he did not dream of her. And when Godric used to, it was because they were together, and for a small period of time after he left.

He went to his living room, debating on whether or not he should go out tonight. Walking used to help take his mind off of complex matters; but this was something impossible to put aside, even for a few minutes. He switched the TV on, though he didn't find many programs interesting. Some of the show that were so loved by humans… perhaps it was something he would never understand, being two thousand years old. And not human.

On TV, a man and woman were sitting and talking to each other, both grinning rather widely. Godric recognized the man right off the bat. Steve Newlin, reverend of a church just outside of Dallas, The Fellowship of the Sun and another female interviewing him on his stance on vampires.

"Reverend, you never fail to express your stance on mainstreaming," the woman was saying, "How do plan on taking action?"

"Well, Joan, I am glad you asked," Steve Newlin replied, offering up a pointless laugh as if the interviewer told him a humorous joke. He certainly sounded glad she had asked for he was about speak more volumes of his hatred. Godric did not hear the rest of his answer as he felt another presence in the room.

"I hate that man." He turned around to see Isabel come into the room. She was dressed in true Isabel fashion, arms crossed, glaring at the TV screen. "I don't know how you can stand to watch him, Sheriff."

Godric turned the TV off without speaking. Isabel was right; he could not stand the sound of Steve Newlin's voice any more than Isabel could. He was just better at not displaying his emotions. He gave the underling his full attention. "Is something the matter?"

Isabel uncrossed her arms, her expression changing. "I should be asking you that. I just wanted to make sure you were alright. You've been a bit… distant."

Godric offered her a weak smile. "There is nothing wrong, Isabel, don't worry."

"Are you sure? I know as sheriff, you have many responsibilities and much to stress about. But you've been unusually quiet, even for you, Godric."

She had noticed. He was normally a silent man, but his underling knew him well enough to tell the difference between normal, everyday Godric to disturbed, lost-in-thought Godric. Currently, he was the latter. But he could not tell Isabel. This was a matter that did not concern either of them. It did not concern anyone but Godric and he was not about to make this an issue for his underlings. He was perfectly fine figuring it out on his own.

"Everything is fine," he promised.

"As long as you are alright," Isabel replied, smiling fondly at her sheriff. She worried for him, it was easy to read on her face. More so than his other underling, Stan. It was nice of her to make sure he was alright but she could do nothing to help him even if he confided in her. No one could.

"Are you going anywhere, tonight?" Godric asked, changing the subject.

Isabel looked a little embarrassed at first, her cheeks flushing. "I… I have a date tonight."

"With your human?"

"Yes… but if you have anything for me to do, I can always reschedule," she replied quickly. "It is no problem for me."

Godric smiled for real this time. "No, Isabel, go out tonight, I have nothing for you to do."

She asked if he was sure and he nodded, seeing her face glow instantly. It made his heart ache to see how happy she was. "Thank you, Sheriff. Are you doing anything special tonight?"

He shook his head. "Nothing. I think I'll stay in." As he had for days now. Godric did not have anyone he kept a serious relationship with, neither did he find pleasure in chasing after humans for fun or to his quench his thirst. At his age, he required very little blood. And over time, taunting humans had become cruel and useless, losing its initial excitement. Just being around his area was enough for him. Lately, he had taken staying home, what with how his dreams were affecting him, to the point where Isabel was noticing.

After Isabel left, Godric retreated back to his room, to do what he had been doing for the past few nights now. Twenty-two years… the amount of time since he had last seen her. The same amount of time it had been since he had dreamt of her.

A man who has lived nearly two-thousand years on Earth eventually loses the will to live anymore. Though he is truly dead, the "life" starts to drain from him with each passing day. Traveling is no longer exciting, killing for fun loses its luster, and feeding doesn't have the same effect it used to. A man who is consumed with his own hatred and resentment is eventually left feeling empty. He finds ways to feel complete again.

Godric was this man. By now, he had seen everything that was written into history textbooks, was older than a being people praised as the son of their god. The first half of his life had been dedicated to senseless killing of humans, the result of his hatred and resentment of them. He had progenies, which he loved very much- but had released them. After a thousand years of disdain for the human race, Godric realized he was not happy living like this. What he had done had left him feeling detached. Where had it all gone wrong? When he released Eric and Nora? When he became Sherriff of Area 9? Perhaps that's just how it was. He had taken many lives. Now he paid for it by living with his own pain forever.

But Godric could not allow himself to go one for the rest of his life this way. He was left with two choices- to find a way to be happy again or to sit and let his misery eat at him. And so he took a break- he went back to traveling.

Despite having been around the world many times, Godric found comfort in traveling. A good part of it had been with Eric. The last time had seen his progeny was in Augsburg, Germany, and that was on a mission, not for enjoyment. After that, they had parted ways. He never said it out loud, but he missed Eric greatly. After being together for so long, it was natural for even a dead man to feel that way. And so, Godric traveled on his own. He did not stray far, keeping to the states.

That was how he had met her. Was it even a slight possibility that she was here, in his area? Godric had considered this idea, but he would have to ask why she would come here. He doubted she had forgotten everything he had told her. She wouldn't be in Dallas if she remembered whose territory she would be living on. Were his dreams telling him she was near?

And if she was… did she come back for him?