The Vampire Ambassador
Chapter 18

I woke up and noticed the sun was smack in the middle of the sky, meaning it was close to noon. I hopped up and raced back to the house in record time.

I jumped onto my balcony and went into the bathroom, turning the water on in the shower to quickly rinse off any sand that was lingering on my body. Once I finished, I applied a slight amount of natural makeup and changed into an outfit slightly more professional: black jeans, a button up 3/4 sleeve polo, and some black mules. I pulled my hair up into a slick pony tail before I unlocked the door and headed for the command room.

I knocked on the door and Luna opened it. Everyone was huddled around the table in the center, so I casually stood behind Luna as she sat next to Gael. I glanced at the clock to see that it was nearly 2.

“Any word yet?” I asked, crossing my arms. Gael shook his head. “No, not yet.”

“No communication between anyone either,” John added from his seat in front of his computer. He wasn’t typing or using the mouse but there were all kinds of codes and screens moving at incredible speeds on his computer.

“It makes me a little nervous,” Quinn said, “Surely they aren’t still meeting?”

“They might,” I replied, “If Johnathan proposed something absurd and the council shut it down, I have no doubt in my mind that he is pushing the envelope as hard as he can to get what he wants.”

Gael rubbed his face and leaned back in his chair. “We need to prep the island for whatever might come of this. Luna, do you have a time for Mel to meet with them?”

What the hell?

“At four this afternoon,” Luna answered.

I looked at her in shock. “What are you talking about?”

“You’re our queen,” Luna said, “If we are going to fight for you, the rest of the island will be there too. They will want a statement with plans from you.”

I groaned and put my hand on my forehead, “I don’t do well with public speaking.”

“Well,” Luna said with an unhappy chuckle, “You better get a speech prepared then.”

“So what is the plan?” I asked with anger, “If they push forward we attack? We wait? Nobody has came up with anything!”

“If we hear something from Harry we will go from there,” Gael answered with a stoic expression, “Otherwise, we had better prepare to leave for the states at any time.”

“Okay,” I said, putting my hands on the table and looking at the map.

I had to get my shit together. Mom would have known exactly what to say and what to plan. On the other hand, I had no clue what I was going to be doing in the next 5 minutes.

The river would be perfect hiding access for a sneak attack. The humans would be there as well, and they would know we would be there to assist them.

“We set up along the river,” I said, dragging my finger along the north side of the river, “With 200 of us and about 400 humans we could divide the barrier. We would need at least one of us to two humans, maybe three. If they say go time is tomorrow, we leave before dawn. If the strategy that Johnathan plans is for them to expand over time, we wait for the day before to set up.

“They will more than likely become violent when they see us waiting on them. We don’t want a war, but we will defend what we need to. We need to protect the land and those who inhabit it. If we attack, we will need to attack to kill. I have a feeling if we don’t eliminate the threat it will come back.”

“We will need to contact those humans on their lands to let them know the plans,” Gael said, flipping through a folder, “I’ll be sure to call their attorney general, if they have one, or mayor. We can get something set up to where they aren’t defenseless.”

“Good call,” I replied, “They have firearms and militia of some sort, so I’m sure they can hold some of their own against Johnathan and his allies.”

“Johnathan has an army of roughly 1,000 men,” Luna said as she clicked on a computer, “Kalani has about 700 and Elias at the bottom with 500.”

“We can expect more than that,” I said, looking at the numbers she had pulled up, “They will all recruit to maximum potential. I would add about 200 men to each of those.”

“So we are looking at 200 of us,” Gael replied as he scratched his head, “400 humans, and maybe some army members from the U.S. national guard. Once the president gets word of what is going on there is no doubt he will send reinforcements to help.”

I rubbed my temples as I realized how quickly this mission could become a nation-wide emergency for vampires and humans alike.

“I’ll get a speech ready,” I said as I headed for the door, “I think as long as you have the right contacts, Gael, we will get a head start on this and simmer it down before it becomes too much to handle.”

“I’ll start making some calls,” he said as he got up and walked out. Luna kept her head swapping from her computer to the map, while Quinn started on his own research. John was busy in his headset, so I went to my room to begin writing.

I had finished my short speech and changed into an icy blue pant suit before Luna came knocking on my door.

“Come in,” I called out as I straightened my crown on my head.

The door creaked open and she slowly walked up to me as I looked in the mirror. She bowed quickly before clearing her throat.

“You ready?” She asked. I nodded and took a deep breath. “Yeah, I guess I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.”

Luna was dressed in a tight black combat suit. The material was a flexible leather, she had a long sword on her left hip, and a mask pulled up to the bottom of her nose. Her hair was pulled into a tight bun on top of her head, and she had on black boots to match the style.

My breath caught in my throat when I saw the stitched emblem on her right shoulder. It was the same as the tattoo markings on my neck; my family emblem.

We went downstairs and got into a black Range Rover. We drove down the mountain to the center of the small town where everyone was gathered at the community square. It was a small park there with a slab of concrete in the middle. A few fountains were scattered throughout with most of everything covered by treetops in the surrounding forests.

The town itself seemed huge since most of it was spread out along the forests and rocky terrain. My guess was that they planned it like that to avoid attention from aircrafts.

We parked behind the podium that was set up on the concrete. I glanced through the window at the hundreds of people gathered to listen.

My stomach immediately turned into slop as Luna opened my door for the crowd to see me exit. Once I stepped out of the vehicle the people of the island erupted into cheers and applause.

We walked over to the podium as my speech in my hand became soggy from the sweat piling up in the palms of my hands. Luna cleared her throat into the microphone and everyone instantly fell silent.

“Thank you all for coming today,” she spoke loud and clearwith assertion, “As you all know, our queen is here to deliver a statement. There is a war going to happen between vampire lands and those of the humans. Her Majesty, Queen Raines, has taken her rightful place in the vampire community to lead us all in the right direction of peace.

“She follows in her late mother’s footsteps to ensure the safely and tranquility for our people. Three kingdoms in the states have met with the council to expand their territories into human lands. This is something that simply cannot be done because it will disturb the peace between us and mankind. It is not what our ancestors would want, and it is not what we want.

“I ask you, today, to listen to our queen’s statement about what we must do to protect the legacy of our kind on this earth. It will take every single one of us to prevent this from turning into a war between all vampires and humans.”

She turned and looked at me. I could tell from her eyes that she was smiling, but I could only keep my expression held in a serious stance.

I clenched my teeth and balled up my fist that was holding my now-wet speech. Fear built up in my throat as I looked at all of the faces in the crowd who were eager to hear me speak.

I walked up to the podium and cleared my throat. My heart raced as the sound of my heavy breathing into the microphone echoed across the park.

I reached deep down inside of me to find some calmness and peace before I began to speak. I could feel my eyes light up and my tattoo burned when I found that special connection with Iris that gave me the confidence to address the crowd.

“Thank you all for coming,” I said, “As you may know, my mother dedicated her life to this island. From being here the past few days, I have learned more about who I really am and what kind of family I come from. I am utterly proud to stand here before you and reign as your queen.

“As Luna has stated, there is a war about to happen between our kind and the humans. This is something that simply cannot happen. If the rest of the human world finds out about what is happening, we will be seen as the enemy. They will do everything in their powers to destroy us. The humans will put a label on all of us as a threat and attempt to eliminate that threat.

“I stand before you to not only protect our kind, but all kinds on this earth. My top priority in this mission is to keep all of you, and the rest of the vampire community, safe. My other priorities are to protect the relationships that we have with those humans whose territories border ours.”

I took a deep breath and glanced at the crowd who all seemed to be on their toes listening to every word I spoke.

“I understand how some of you may feel about going to battle,” I continued, “And if you choose not to participate, there will be no greivances against you. However, I do highly encourage everyone to join in this ambassador mission that is set before us. It will take each and every one of you to help defend the land in the states in which we have a duty to protect.

“I know, without a doubt, that this is what my mother would want from us. She would want the border to remain safe for humans and vampires alike. We have to push against King Johnathan, King Kalani, and King Elias in this time to ensure the quality of leadership in the vampire world will remain cordial.”

I cleared my throat again and let a pause keep the crowd attached to my speech.

“With that being said,” I stated, “The three kings were supposed to meet with the council at noon. I have not heard what came from that meeting, but we have to be ready for deployment at any moment. If Johnathan does not get the answers that he wants from the council, I’m aftaid he is the type of king that will push forward with vengence.

“The plan is to leave immediately when the command is called. We will travel to the border between vampire and human lands, which resides on the river. We will set up to meet the vampire armies there and fight back with whatever tactics are needed. The humans will have their own defense ready to assist if needed.

“It is important to know that if the kingdoms against us choose violence as the answer to our ambush, we will have to fight to kill. These are not people who will back down easily. I assure that you will have no charges brought against you during this battle, and I will protect all of you with my life.”

I scanned the crowd again and smiled. “I hope to see you all there, ready to assist the crown. Thank you again for your time, and please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.”

I stepped back from the podium and looked at Luna, who was beaming with excitement. She turned to the crowd and raised her right fist in the air.

“All hail Queen Raines!” She exclaimed. I looked at the crowd who all held up their fists with her.

“Hail Queen Raines!” They yelled in unison. I smiled and felt tears begin to form in the corners of my eyes. They all bowed to me before they started to scatter off and prepare for our battle.

I wiped my eyes and quickly walked to the car, slamming the door behind me. Luna got into the driver’s seat and pulled her mask down, smiling at me.

“That’s what I call a fucking speech,” she chuckled as she put the vehicle in drive. I smiled as we drove back to the house, overwhelmed with a feeling of pride coming from deep within my soul.

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