Title: Interview with a Vampire

Summary: Kitty is in the middle of nowhere, traveling between shows, when she stops at a bar and meets a vampire who recognizes her voice and would like to comment on her interview with Harmony Kendall, his ex.

A/N: Setting for Kitty series is between Kitty and the Midnight Hour and Kitty goes to Washington.

"I know that voice...How do I know that voice?"

I couldn't help but flinch when I heard the question, asked in a cockney accent that didn't fit the Honky Tonk setting in any way. If anyone else in the bar had asked, I would have smiled and fessed up, somewhat happy to have found a fan of my show in such a rural spot. But, of course, it was the one guy I'd tried to avoid who was doing the asking.

It wasn't that I have anything against vampires exactly, but as soon as I'd sniffed this one out, my wolf had started pacing, sensing a danger. I told her to calm down, but the full moon was two nights away, and she was hard to reason with at this time of the month. Which was the reason I'd stopped here, in the middle of Nowhere, USA, planning to scope out potential running grounds.

The reason I'd stopped in the bar, though, was purely for me. I'd smelled the fried food from my motel room down the street and sought it out in hopes that the kitchen was still open at this time of night. I'd sniffed out the lone vampire as well, as soon I walked inside, but the food had been too seductive for me to turn tail.

This is what I deserved for eating crap, I supposed. I waved the waitress off with my order, hoping she didn't think I was being rude.

I kept my head down, but I saw the vampire stand, somewhat tipsy, and pick up his beer and a platter of what appeared to be a blooming onion. Sure enough, he was walking my way. And, was he actually drunk? What the hell kind of vampire could actually get drunk?

And I'd never seen one dine on anything but blood. I took another deep breath, thinking maybe I'd gotten him wrong. Maybe he was something other than a vampire. Some sort of ghoul-like creature I'd never met before? Nothing would surprise me at this point.

Without an invitation, he slid into the booth seat across from me, pushing the platter to the center of the table, as if he intended to share.

"Kitty bleedin' Norville," he announced, proudly, as if he'd solved a riddle. "Thought that was your voice I 'eard. Listen to your show a bit, when I get a chance. Fun stuff, 'specially when the loons call in, hoping to learn more about Dracula or whatnot. He's a fancy-boy shit, by the way, and real. Got that one wrong, love."

Instinct told me to run, the wolf told me to change. I took a deep breath, forcing myself to calm. For the moment, at least, I had myself under control.

"Thanks," I said, hesitantly. I couldn't help but ask. "Are you drunk?"

"Am I?" he asked, brow raised. And he was attractive in that Billy Idol, punk rock kind of way, what with the bleached hair and the leather, and those killer cheek bones. Probably would have been more handsome without the piece of fried onion hanging from the neck of his black shirt. But it helped him smell like something other than blood and death, which was a plus. "That was the intent," he explained, a few seconds later. "Get smashed, make a bit of a ruckus, piss Peaches off enough to come out of hiding. But if that git wants to run off without me, so be it. Don't need him, but he could have left me his fancy daylight-proof car, the sod, and I would have thought Big Blue wouldn't have left without her favorite pet."

I blinked. There was so much I wanted to digest from that statement, but I backed up to earlier. "Did you say you knew Dracula?"

"Owes me eleven quid." But he shrugged, as if putting that aside. "Trust me, he's not as interesting as you'd think. He's one of those poofer vampires, with their fancy tricks, putting folks into trances and the like. Didn't invent the stereo-type, but he sure fit into it well enough."

This was officially getting interesting. I could almost feel my wolf settling down to listen, too. Which was odd, considering the dead predator in front of us, but apparently she was a fan now. Maybe we both realized this guy wasn't exactly going for the neck. Yet.

"What's your name?"

"Spike," he said, then huffed. "I imagine you might remember me."

"You called the show?"

"Oh, god, no..." He made a face. "Well, there was this one time, but I didn't call in under my...Nevermind. You're right, I'm a bit drunk. But still too sober to bring that up. No, I had an ex who called in, used my name on the bloody radio and everything. Got laughed out of a demon club after that."

The nickname did sound somewhat familiar, but for the life of me, I couldn't remember which caller had brought it up. "Who's the ex?"

"Oh, now her I know you'll remember. Heard the interview you did just a bit back, about her new MTV reality show. Stupidest thing I've ever seen that show, not that I watch it. Bird really does know how to preen in the lime light, though, don't she?"

My eyes widened in realization. "Harmony? You dated Harmony?"

"Ain't proud." Spike snorted, taking a sip off his beer. Again, I really wanted to ask how his body could handle that, but I held my tongue, not wanting to interrupt him. "And don't make it sound like I dated a slug demon or something. She's got her good qualities. Or, well...Alright, maybe not enough to count on one hand, but I was evil when we dated. And desperate for a re-bound when we hooked up."

I heard a chuckle, then realized it had come from me. I bit back another. Seriously, did I have no sense of self preservation?

"So you're not currently 'evil'?"

"I see those air quotes there, love, but I'll have you know I used to be a rotten sort. Still not exactly a saint, but I'm not into the maim and murder scene quite so much."

That was comforting. "If I remember correctly, Harmony said you used her for sex. Tried to stake her."

"Did stake her," he noted. "But just to test something out. That's beside the point though. Have you ever met her? Has she mentioned her unicorn collection yet? I was bad, yeah, but she was no picnic herself."

I chewed my lip, considering the possibilities. I had a show lined up for the next studio, but there was room for another guest. And I did pride myself on getting both sides of a story. Okay, and maybe a little part of me was annoyed by Harmony Kendall and would love to hear several embarrassing stories from her ex.

"Would you consider being on the show, Spike?"

He opened and closed his mouth, as if I'd interrupted him, then seemed to consider my question. "Sorry, love, 'fraid I can't. Keepin' my head down at the moment. Got a few too many enemies looking for me."

"Maybe another time?"

He shrugged. "Sure. It's only talkin'. Guess it might be a bit of fun to get my old pals riled up on air." He gave me a smirk that sent a chill down my back. "And I wouldn't mind seeing you again. Woman with a dead sexy radio voice, and the looks to match."

"Werewolf with a dead sexy radio voice," I corrected, but I could feel the skin on my neck flush and knew he could see I was blushing. Stupid vampires. Usually their charms didn't work that well on me. Granted, I had always been a fan of Billy Idol, so maybe it wasn't the vampire part that was doing the work.

"Well, see, love, that just makes you all the more interesting," he said, grinning. "See you around, Kitty Norville."

He stood up, sauntering off with little of the drunken sway that he'd arrived with. A little part of me wanted to ask him where he was staying. Just out of curiosity. In case I had any more questions.

"Ma'am?"

The waitress had returned, beef tips and fries in tow, and she gave me a cheerful smile that wavered a tad when she sat the bill down.

I glanced at it. "I think that's for the wrong table."

"Oh, it's your boyfriend's tab. He said to send it over to your table, and to bring you this." She lifted a drink off her serving tray, sitting it in front of me. A Bloody Mary.

"Of course," I muttered, glaring at the cocktail.

Of course, he had left me with his bill. Damn vampires. For the first time in my life, I had to fight down the urge to call Harmony Kendall. Thankfully, my rational side kicked in before I did just that, but at my next show, I'd be taking any callers who'd heard of a vampire named "Spike," and I had a feeling I'd hear a few entertaining stories.