The Vampire Ambassador

I had just finished unpacking and getting everything sorted how I liked it when a knock came from my door.

"Come in!" I called out as I organized my toiletries. The door creaked open and uncle Harry walked into the doorway of the bathroom.

"Hey," I huffed as I moved some hair out of my face, "What's up?"

"I just wanted to let you know that I have to get back to the council," he answered, rubbing the back of his head, "If you need anything, Luna and Gael will be able to help you."

"Thanks," I said, standing up. I looked down at the floor and put my right hand on my left arm. "Thanks for believing in me, uncle Harry."

"Oh, Mel," he chuckled, "You're so more than welcome. You have made me so proud in such a short time, and I know your parents would be proud too. I have no doubt you will accomplish your task of handling this war."

"It's not a war yet," I said, smiling up at him, "That's what I'm here to prevent."

"Spoken like a true leader," he said, wrapping his arms around me for a hug. I hugged him tightly back.

"And if Erik calls," he said, "It will be on the only phone here: the house phone. More than likely Gael will pick it up. I have informed him of where everyone thinks you are, and that no visitors are allowed at St. Mary's, the name of the mental institution on the coast of New Jersey."

"Sounds good," I sighed, "I just hate lying to him."

"It's for his safety," uncle Harry replied, "And he will understand once everything is over with."

"I know," I said, "I just miss him terribly when I'm away from him. I know it's the soulmate bond, but it just gnaws at me."

"Just remember your purpose," he said, "Everything will be back to normal in no time."

I nodded and smiled as he said a final goodbye, leaving me alone again. I walked over to the small window and peered out, happy that I had a view of the ocean. I swallowed down the pain in my chest from missing Erik because I knew I couldn't let my emotions get in the way of the mission.

I hated leaving him out of my plans, but as uncle Harry said it was for his safety. The last thing I wanted was for something to happen to him.

I walked out of the room and down to the kitchen, suddenly hungry. I dug around in the fridge and closed the door once I found some sandwich meat and a coke. I leaned against the counter and ate as I continued to ponder on what I would do when the time came to attack.

Gael wanted a professional, non-threatening interaction with these kingdoms. I knew that would be impossible after I saw the person Johnathan really was. This would be a blood bath, and I wasn't sure if our small pact was enough to take on everyone.

I threw my paper plate and empty coke can away before I headed back up to the room where the plans were taking place. I knocked twice on the door and Gael opened it.

"Back so soon?" he laughed as he shut the door behind me. I took a seat in the chair beside the table in the middle as he sat down next to me.

"I was thinking," I said, looking down at the map, "This isn't going to be easy with just us. There is what...15 of us total? No way are we going to be able to fight against armies by ourselves if it comes to that."

"My dear," he said, leaning closer as his eyes lit up, "The reason your parents founded this little community is because most of us live off the grid. There are 200 people on this island, believe it or not. And each one of us have a special ability." He raised his hand up and fire erupted from his fingertips. I scooted my chair back in shock.

"The only thing that separates you from us is that you have a little bit of a different ability," he said, extinguishing the flames and returning his eyes to normal, "You can control whatever you want with your mind, while the rest of us just have abilities of nature or magic. For instance..." He took a small flame and threw it at Luna's back which hit her and sizzled out, turning into smoke. "Luna has water abilities."

"I thought I told you to stop that," Luna growled as she turned around, "You know I hate it when you pick on me."

"You could never put my fire out, baby," he smiled as she rolled her eyes. She turned back to a computer and continued to type.

"This is amazing," I breathed, watching as Gael played with the fire along his fingertips. He smiled at me. "Trust me, they don't stand a chance against us if they try."

The rest of the afternoon I spent with Gael, Luna, and a few others. We had not heard anything from John so there weren't any conversations between the kingdoms yet. We mapped out the woods and territories along the river to find the best spots to wait when the time was right.

Dinner was exactly what you would expect from a house full of young adults: Chinese takeout. We all sat around the table in the dining room and discussed day to day life here on the island.

"We usually spend most of the time in the command room," Gael said as he picked his teeth with a toothpick, "We like to keep track of all of the kingdoms and make sure everything is running smoothly. If we see something out of place, we alert the council. When we saw the three kingdoms expanding closer to the human territories, we told the council and kept an eye on the margins of the borders. Once they realized this would be too big for a bunch of old vamps to take care of, they decided to call us. We knew you had surfaced and killed Malachi, so I made the call to get you in here secretly and plan on what we should do about the problem.

"The council was all for this, since they always supported your parents anyway. When they told us of the powers you had and that you were attached at the hip to King Donovan, we knew that you were the best option for us to stop this from turning into a war."

"What does Erik have to do with this?" I asked as I took a sip of wine, "I mean, I was told to keep all of this a secret from him."

Gael made a ticking sound with his mouth as he set the toothpick on his plate. "Yes, that's correct. I know you are his soulmate and all; Harry informed me of that before you came. King Donovan's father was a very good friend to the council and your parents. However, there was always a secretive side to him that I'm afraid might run through Erik's blood as well."

"I think you have that wrong," I scoffed, "If Erik's father was trying to find out more about me for other reasons than being friends with my parents, that was his own doing. Erik is not like that; he would do anything for me."

"I would just tread lightly on your conversations with him while you are here," Gael said, "Because it could either go one of two ways: Erik could either try to help and get himself hurt or killed in the process, or he will run and tell Johnathan and the other kings what we are planning."

I sighed and decided that the first part of his idea was what I was going with. I had to keep everyone safe, especially Erik. Even if his intentions with me at the beginning were to take my powers for himself there was no way in hell that's what he was planning now that we were soulmates.

You would know.

"I get it," I replied, "I won't tell him. He thinks I'm in a mental institution, so that's where I'm at."

"Let's go for a hunt," Luna moaned, "I'm starving."

My eyebrows shot up at her. "What are you talking about, a hunt?"

"What do you think she means?" Gael chuckled as he stood up from the table, "We always have a weekly hunt to replenish our strength. There are so many deer on the island we have to keep the population down."

"Oh," I replied. I had never been on a hunt before and I had never been around anyone who hunted.

"You're more than welcome to join," Luna said as she stood up and stretched her arms. I smiled but shook my head. "Thanks, but no thanks. I'll make do with what I have."

"You've never been, have you?" Gael asked. I made a face and looked at the floor. "No, I haven't."

"Come on," the other guy at the table, Quinn, added, "It'll be fun! We will teach you. Although I'm sure with your instincts you will be a natural pro."

Gael bumped my shoulder and smiled down at me. "Come with us, Mel. I think you'll like it."

"Fine!" I laughed, getting up, "I'll go."

We ventured out into the thick woods on the other side of the island, letting our legs stretch and climb the mountainside. Quinn was right, this was so much fun just being free.

We came to a clearing with a small opening on the rough terrain that was covered by trees. Gael bent down behind a tree and peeked over to a pack of small deer. Luna took the left side behind a large rock and motioned for me to join her. I slid quietly behind the rock and took a glance down in the small ravine.

"There are a few down there," she whispered, "Take your pick and we will follow suit."

I looked down and noticed a small male deer munching on some leaves surrounded by a few doe. There were two other males on the far right, which I decided to leave for the others.

"That one," I whispered, pointing to my pick. Luna nodded and raised her eyebrows, indicating for me to go ahead. I focused on the deer and slowed down my heart rate before I launched in the air. I landed directly on its back, sinking my teeth immediately into the jugular and gulping down the sweet nectar.

Gael, Luna, Quinn, and a few others took their prey while the other deer ran off. I continued to drink until there wasn't any left and the body of the deer went limp under me. I stepped back and heard a static noise in the air followed by a hum of electricity. I glanced over at Gael and Luna who were staring at me.

"What?" I asked, wiping my mouth. Gael's mouth was wide open.

"You're absolutely glowing," Luna said, pulling out her phone and taking a picture. She walked over and showed me. My jaw dropped to the mossy ground as I looked at the picture.

The mist was swirling in intricate designs around me, my eyes were icy blue, and my skin had a blue hue to it. I looked powerful as hell, and I could feel my pride building up inside of me.

"You truly are the ultimate queen," Gael said, walking over toward us as he shook off the shock from what he saw.

I smiled sheepishly. "Thanks, I guess."

"Let's get rid of these," Luna said as she picked up her deer. We all carried the carcasses to the ocean and threw them into the water as vultures began to immediately feed.

We ran back to the house and joined in the command center. John was in his corner listening intently to something in his headphones.

"Your Majesty," he said, taking off the headset, "You need to listen to this. You too, Gael."

He played the message and my stomach dropped.

"Hey, Johnathan," king Kalani said, "What's up?"

"Melody is taken care of," Johnathan said, "How far out are you from the river?"

"Hmm," Kalani answered, "Probably about 70 miles. You?"

"The same," Johnathan replied, "I suggest we begin to push slowly with the council starting tomorrow. We need to expand quickly-we only have one month. Once that month is over, Melody will more than likely come back fighting and take the crown from me. I want to get rid of the fucking humans before that happens so she has the shit show to deal with."

"That way she will be blamed for the problems," Kalani chuckled, "I knew it would be good when you told me your plans for her."

"Oh, I'm not finished," Johnathan said, "I can promise you I would rather die than have that bitch take this power from me. I managed to salvage some of her blood and I'm working on a serum to be able to stand up to her."

"Oh, you dirty dog!" Kalani exclaimed, "Fight fire with fire. I like it."

"She deserves to die just like her parents," Johnathan spat out, "They are all just satisfied with our status. We are the top dogs in this world, it's time to show the humans their true place in this food chain."

"Just let me know when and where," Kalani replied, "And I'll be there. I'll call Elias once you reach out to me."

"Perfect," Johnathan said, "We will talk soon."

The phone call ended and you could have heard a pin drop in the room.

Looks like your job just got a little more complicated.