It was on the tip of Barbara’s tongue to wail, “But I want to go noooooowwww!!” She also wanted to let loose a blood-curdling shriek of frustration.
She somehow managed to resist both primal urges. “I understand. I guess it can’t be helped.”
“I’d like to believe otherwise.” Ambrose said. “But if the plane isn’t here, the plane isn’t here. There’s not much either you or I could do about that.”
The ticketing agent smiled. “I’m so glad you both understand.”
Ambrose scoffed. “Oh, I bet you are.”
“Oh, I am. I’ve had to deal with a lot of irrational people over the years. I’m so glad you aren’t one of them. Hmm.” The ticketing agent turned back to her computer. “That gets me thinking. What if…” She typed a whole line of something with sporadic taps on the Tab key. “Ahhh, there you are.” She stopped typing and looked up at Ambrose. “Are you an extraordinary?”
Ambrose shrugged. “I’d like to say that I am very extraordinary, but I don’t think I have the right level of ego to say that line with adequate conviction.” He bared his fangs. “Anyway, I think this is the answer you’re looking for.”
“Vampire. Hm. Interesting.” She typed something on her computer and hit Tab. “Are you a recent change?”
“No. I’ve been a vampire for a long time.”
She typed his response before asking her next question, “Were you a former hunter?”
“No. I was a very ordinary human.”
Barbara smiled at that. “I seriously doubt that you were ‘very ordinary’.”
He retracted his fangs and smiled lovingly at Barbara. Before he could say anything, though, the ticketing agent asked her next question.
“Have you drunk blood tonight?”
Ambrose reluctantly returned his attention to the woman behind the desk. “Yes.”
“Was it dragon blood?”
“No.”
“Do you have any personal traumas that would make you claustrophobic about being in an enclosed space for a specific amount of time?”
Ambrose hesitated. “I don’t like elevators. Does that count?”
She looked up at him. “Define ‘Don’t like elevators’.”
“Panic attack.” A worried expression came over his face. “Wait. Is this going to be anything like an elevator?”
“No.” She paused. “Not really. Technically speaking.”
Ambrose’s pupils widened.
Barbara wrapped her arm around his waist. “You’ll be okay, kitten.”
“How bad are your panic attacks?” the ticketing agent asked. “Will you try tearing the door off its hinges while in flight or try smashing one of the windows?”
He shook his head.
She nodded and typed a whole bunch of things. Her computer keys clacked in muted tones. “Do you need to take a sedative to keep you calm?”
“No. Wait. Why are you asking all of these questions?” His pupils shrank to normal size. “You said there aren’t any more planes going to Florida tonight.”
“Yes, no normal flights. However, I do see that we have one flight going to Orlando down in the extraordinary terminal.”
Ambrose glared at her. “You know, you could have just said that in the first place.”
She waved her hand in a dismissive gesture. “There would have been no point in doing so. The extraordinary terminal is for extraordinaries only. No humans allowed.” She smiled at Barbara. “And what kind of extraordinary are you?”
ambroseandelsie 