Thanks for the great feedback! I'm going back to college in a little over 3 weeks (let's hear it for late starts!) so I'll try to update as much as I can but I make no promises since I'll be busy packing and getting ready for school, not to mention saying goodbye to friends (sadness).

Anyone else going back to school soon? I feel like a dork but I'm actually really excited!

To burn: to consume; to destroy; to shine.

II. Glow

I stared at Godric in surprise. "You're…breaking me out?"

"Of course," he looked at me like this was no big deal. "You didn't think I would just let them hold you here, did you?"

"Er," my cheeks flushed and I forced my fidgeting fingers to sit still, "I didn't really think about it, I guess. Just how do you plan on getting me out of here?"

Godric glanced around the room thoughtfully, his eyes scanning the concrete walls and that damn chain link door that was too strong for me to break through and too packed with silver for him to even touch. "I will come up with a plan, do not fear, little one," he assured me, his eyes twinkling in the darkness.

"Little one?" I scoffed. "I'm nineteen, thank you very much."

Apparently this was funny to Godric, as he let out a rumbling chuckle, only annoying me even more. "Forgive me," he said between chuckles, "you must realize that nineteen years is not much for a vampire."

"Just how old are you?" I couldn't help but ask.

He eyed me for a moment, considering, before shaking his head. "I will answer any questions you have later, for now I must rest."

"Rest? How come?"

"Daytime is a vampire's resting hour," he explained, leaning back into the armchair and tilting his head back once more.

I frowned, "I'm sorry for keeping you awake then."

While his eyes were closed, a small smile appeared on Godric's face. "No apologies necessary, it was worth waking up."

I wasn't exactly sure what he meant was worth it, but part of me couldn't help but feel flattered at the thought that he was referring to me. I bit my lip, watching the vampire from beneath my eyelashes for a while.

After a few minutes, I couldn't look at him anymore. Sure he was easy on the eyes, but I couldn't get over the eeriness of watching someone sleep while not breathing. It felt too much like I was watching over a corpse. Shivers went up my spine at that thought.

Moving over to the corner farthest way from the door, I decided to rest as well. If my only companion was a creature of the night, I would have to adjust my schedule to fit his, after all.

Especially if he was intending to be my savior as well.

I observed what I could see of his face around the chair at my new angle for a little longer before my eyes began to grow heavy, my own exhaustion kicking in after such a trying day. I wrapped my arms around my knees and pressed my face into the darkness created, welcoming a dreamless sleep.

When I woke up, I stubbornly kept my eyes closed, secretly wishing that it had all been a dream and I was still safe in my comfy bed. The crick in my neck and numbness in my backside, however, were enough to let me know that I had not been dreaming after all.

With a sigh, I blinked my eyes open and groggily lifted my head. It took me a moment for my eyes to adjust to the darkness again and when they did I jumped at what I saw.

"Gah!" I yelped, throwing my hands up instinctively. "Don't stare at me like that while I'm asleep!"

Godric smiled sheepishly at me and backed up from his seated position, just a few inches away from me. "I apologize; I admit I was intrigued by the way you sleep. It has been years since I watched a human sleeping."

As an afterthought, a crooked little grin grew on his face, "Although, in over 2,000 years, I do not believe I've ever seen someone with quite the same…sleep patterns as you."

"I know I talk in my sleep," I snapped as I stood up, brushing dirt and dust off my modest khakis—another part of the rouse. At least I wasn't wearing a dress this week, though. My leather flats, however, could become a problem if I had to run to get out of this place. They weren't the most comfortable footwear choice and were sure to rub blisters into my feet if I had to wear them for a long period of time.

While the basement was nice and cool, I unbuttoned the periwinkle shirt I had on, revealing my white camisole I wore beneath it to get some breathing room.

I glanced up in time to notice Godric's lingering gaze. "Don't you ever stop staring?" I couldn't help but snap, slightly thrown off by this much undivided attention—not only from a vampire, but from a male in general.

Godric kept his eyes on mine as he replied, "I figure it's only fair, since you did your share of staring before I fell asleep."

Heat rushed into my face and I prayed to any higher power out there that was listening that Godric's nighttime vision was just as bad as mine so he couldn't see. Who was I kidding, though. He was a vampire—hell, he could probably smell the blood rushing into my face.

"I wasn't staring," I muttered, looking down and playing with the ends of my loose shirt.

"Well, whatever it was," I could just hear him smiling, "I could feel it even with my eyes closed."

I cleared my throat, keeping my gaze down as I sat on my crate across from him, "So…you said you were more than 2,000 years old?"

He nodded and smiled slightly as if to say, "You caught me."

"That's insane."

Godric laughed, leaning back in his chair, "Yes, it is a strange thought. Even more amazing is the amount of memories I have, I can still recall my early days as a vampire."

"Can you remember life as a human?"

This caused him to frown. At first I was afraid I'd asked the wrong thing but then I realized he was taking the time to really think about it.

"I remember…remembering my life, if you can understand that," he started. "I do not know how else to explain it. I was only human for a short while and it was a much simpler time back then. I'm not sure if there was much to remember."

I'd seemed to have slipped into Reporter Mode without even realizing it. I leaned forward and rested my chin in my hands as I continued my game of Twenty Questions.

"Do you know how old you were when you were turned?"

"We did not count age the way we do now, but I believe I was around your age. Maybe a bit younger."

"Where are you from? Your accent is so…"

"Strange?" Godric suggested in a teasing tone.

"Unique," I corrected, narrowing my eyes so he knew I was trying to be serious.

That brought another bright smile to his face. I couldn't believe how much someone who was about to be put to death smiled. "I have lived many places and learned many languages, so my accent is a bit of a mixing pot. I was born to a small nomadic tribe somewhere around what is now Scandinavia. For a long time I traveled around Eastern Europe and it wasn't until the past few decades that I moved to America."

"That's so cool," I couldn't help but gush. "I've never been out of the country—I've never even been out of Texas. I'd like to travel the world someday, though."

Godric raised his eyebrows, "Anywhere in particular?"

I chewed the side of my lip, "Well, Europe definitely. And Africa. Asia, too. And probably South America. I guess I should see more of the US, too."

We laughed together although I felt a little pathetic by my lack of culture and worldly experience compared to him. I shrugged, playing with the end of my ponytail.

"If I could live anywhere, though, I think I would want to live in New York City," I admitted quietly, suddenly feeling very shy. I'd never spoken of this dream to anyone before and I had no idea why I was divulging this information to someone who was practically a stranger.

"For the journalism?" Godric questioned, crossing his legs.

I shrugged again, "There is that, but the real reason is for my dads."

This seemed to grab his curiosity. He leaned forward, letting me know he was listening.

Taking a deep breath, I decided to plow on, "Growing up with two dads wasn't easy. When I was little I didn't think there was anything wrong with my family, I'd never had a mom in the picture and I thought it was just as normal to have another father instead.

"It wasn't until I started school that I noticed every other student had a mother to volunteer in the classroom or drive the carpools or bring snacks to the soccer games. Kids even used to ask me where my mom was and I started to wonder, too."

"Do you know who your mother is?"

I shook my head, "I was adopted. I don't know who either of my biological parents are. Don't get me wrong, I love my dads and I've never even considered finding my biological parents, but I started to think there was something wrong with me. We lived in a conservative neighborhood just outside of Austin and most people didn't agree with our 'family choices', as they called it.

"When I turned sixteen we moved to Dallas and that was a little better. You guys coming out of the coffin has actually helped us out a bit too," I added with a grin. "Took some of the attention away from us."

We were quiet for a minute, just smiling at each other in comfortable silence. I was feeling strangely giddy all of the sudden.

And free.

I'd never talked to someone this much about how hard my childhood was because of how I'd been raised, and I found that a weight had been lifted from my chest. It was as if I could run again, dance again, sing again.

And I wanted to. I wanted to break free from this damn basement cell and dance in the streets. I smiled to myself and blushed again when I realized Godric was still watching me. He probably thought I was crazy but I didn't even care anymore. I felt like I could tell him anything, and the crazy thing was I actually wanted to.

"After I graduated, my dads decided they wanted to see the world, so they've been in traveling around South America while I've been at school. We call every few weeks and while I miss them like crazy, I'm glad they're finally doing what they love and can be happy together.

"I think New York City could be that place for me," I continued, finally getting to my point. "It's the most understanding, open, loving city in the world. It doesn't matter if you're black, white, male, female, gay, straight, rich, poor, or anything in between…everyone has somewhere to belong. I like that. I want to feel like I belong somewhere."

Godric's blue eyes penetrated my own, trapping me in their mesmerizing gaze and it was like something slid into place between us, the pieces had finally fit together. Without needing to say it, I knew Godric understood exactly how I felt.

And suddenly I understood why he was here.

"That's why you're letting Steve do this, isn't it?" I asked quietly, unable to hide my revelation from him. He looked down at his clasped hands guiltily before glancing back up at me.

"I do not fit here anymore," he admitted. "I do not know how to live in this world anymore."

Without even thinking about it, I reached out and grabbed his hand. It was cold in my grasp but I welcomed it after living in the dry heat my whole life.

"Don't say that," I whispered. "You've managed to adapt to the changing times for centuries, you can still do it."

"It is not about my being able to adapt," Godric corrected quietly, shaking his head. "It is whether I want to anymore."

"You don't want to live anymore?"

Our eyes locked and I felt myself flushing again at the intensity he was looking at me with. My heart skipped a beat and it wasn't until then that I realized our hands were still clasped together.

"I didn't think I did. But now…I'm not so sure."

Did that mean what I thought it meant? I couldn't tell. Godric's words, I was coming to find, could be so cryptic. He sure knew how to confuse a girl.

All I knew was that that part of me that kept blushing under his gaze and overanalyzing his words was slowly taking over. It wouldn't be long until I was entering dangerous territory. I licked my lips, gently pulling my hand from his. I pretended to fix my ponytail so it looked like I needed both hands.

Deciding that we'd had enough deep conversation for one night, I changed to a lighter topic. "So what do you like to do at night? Any hobbies?"

He gave me a small half smile and relaxed back in his chair, apparently just as grateful for the topic change as I was.

"I suppose I work mostly."

I didn't realize vampires even had jobs. I guess they had to make a living too, after all. "What do you do?"

"I am the sheriff for this area," he told me, scratching the back of his neck sheepishly when my eyes bugged out.

"Shut up," I burst out. "You're like, a vampire boss? That's awesome."

Godric shrugged, "It keeps things interesting. Dealing with the Fellowship has been my primary focus over the past few years."

"What about for fun?"

"I beg your pardon?" I tried not to smile as he looked at me like I'd spoken to him in a foreign language.

"You know. Fun. What do you do for fun?"

He just blinked at me and for the longest time said nothing. "I observe human nature sometimes, to better understand it. And…I like to travel."

"Yeah I bet living for eternity gives you lots of time for that," I said with a teasing grin.

"You'd be surprised how many famous sites and landmarks are underappreciated during the night. One of the benefits of being a night walker is there are almost never crowds."

"Don't you miss sunlight?" I asked. "Nothing beats a warm sunny day."

He smiled wryly, "I've learned to live with moonlight."

"I suppose I wouldn't miss the heat and humidity. No more sweating or sticking to leather seats," I joked. "I need to get out more at night, I think."

That seemed to please Godric. He perked up and shifted his weight to the arm of the chair closest to me, "Well you are most welcome in my area whenever you please."

"I'd like that," I said softly, unable to contain my smile. "I'd…I'd like to see you again, Godric."

As if pulled by some unseen force, our bodies were suddenly mere inches apart, our faces tilting towards each other. My heart pounded within my breast and I found myself unable to catch my breath.

His eyes flicked down to my mouth once before looking into mine again. I was drowning in those deep blue eyes and, I realized all the sudden, I didn't mind in the slightest. My hands reached forward to clutch at the arm of his chair, braced on either side of his.

Just as our lips were about to meet, a door slammed in the distance behind us. I gasped, whirling around in time to see Gabe clomping down a flight of stairs and making his way over to us.

Godric stood, so quickly that I barely saw him move, and stepped in front of me protectively. I peered over his shoulder as we watched Gabe approach.

"You're still alive?" he sneered at me, not hiding the way his eyes traveled over my body. I noticed Godric angled himself until he was completely blocking me.

"Is there something you want?" he asked with that calm yet authoritative voice of his.

Gabe narrowed his eyes at my vampire companion, scowled, and then banged a fist on the gate. I jumped, my hands clutching at the back of Godric's linen shirt impulsively.

"Just making sure you two are behaving," Gabe called out as he made his way back to the stairs.

As soon as he was out of our sight, Godric spun around, his hands coming up to grasp my elbows. "Are you alright?" he asked, his eyes searching mine.

I allowed my shaking hands to rest on his forearms, already feeling safer from his touch alone. Nodding, I let out a shaky breath, "I'm fine. I just…I don't like that guy."

He smiled softly, dipping his head slightly so we were at the same eye level. "No one does."

He must have heard something my human ears couldn't pick up, because he tensed and glanced over his shoulder. The look in his eyes when he turned back to me was one of determination.

"Tell me Spencer," he began quietly. "Are you a fast runner?"

"Uh, I can be, if I need to be."

"Do you trust me?"

I didn't have to hesitate, "Yes."

"Good," his eyes softened. "Then prepare yourself."

Before I could ask what he meant, Godric picked up the dusty armchair and charged towards the door.

Wow I can't believe I updated so quickly! I think that's a first for me. I just can't get this story out of my head, I guess.

Thank you for the wonderful support, please keep it up!