The Vampire Interview
The Vampire Interview ~ by DarkTalons Lena Grayson slumped in the driver’s seat of her beat-up hatchback, the engine ticking as it cooled outside the wrought-iron gates of a sprawling gothic mansion. A journalist for The City Pulse, she’d clawed her way through gritty crime beats and dull city council meetings, only for her editor to dump this fluff piece on her lap: “Interview with a Self-Proclaimed Vampire.” She snorted, rubbing her temples—either her publisher was scraping the barrel, or this was payback for last week’s snarky email. “Fucking vampires,” she muttered, grabbing her notepad and recorder. “Let’s just get this circus over with.” The house loomed ahead—three stories of dark stone, ivy choking the walls, stained-glass windows glinting like eyes in the dusk. She stepped out, gravel crunching under her Chelsea boots—black, scuffed, practical—her …