Page 178 of The Last Vampire
Why not a dozen?
Based on what Minaro said, it is unlikely Grandsire would have anticipated when the vampires would awaken or what they would choose to do. He also likely would not have known about the vampires needing to regroup and return to death-sleep for the spell to end.
He was surrounded by variables and no constants he could control for—exceptone.
His grandfather knew William.
They had spent enough time together that he knew his grandchild inside and out. He would have predicted the direction William was most likely to lead. And if he left William as the only Stoker, the others would be forced to at leastlisten.
Which means…
Grandsire was counting on William to follow his basic nature.
“Where have you been?” Fabiana demands as soon as he shows up to the clearing where she has been waiting for him with Nate and Cisco’s hibernating bodies. They are bathed in silver moonlight, the stars’ glow growing dimmer by the instant as the sky fades from black to charcoal with the approach of morning.
“I went back to Huntington,” he says hurriedly, and Fabiana’s whole face furrows in anger. “I learned that—”
“I can’t believe you’re fucking around with that human when we’re out here trying to save her and her friends!”
The temperature is rapidly cooling, the vampires approaching with the force of a global ice storm.
“Listen to me—”
“No, you listen. Or better yet,smell!”
The cloud of ancient air blowing against the wind, in their direction, isbecoming oppressively stronger. William wants to share his information with Fabiana before they come within auditory range.
“Fabiana, the spell—”
But it is too late.
The musk is now overwhelming, and it is pushing in on all sides. Within seconds, William begins to see eyes glinting in the black spaces between the trees, as if the night itself were awakening.
William and Fabiana are exposed on every side, the clearing empty save for them and the resting Nate and Cisco. William feels his brethren’s scrutiny, and while the tension grows, it strikes him that he should speak.
Now, while he holds their attention.
“Thank you for coming,” he says, trying to infuse his voice with the same sense of authority as Grandsire. “I am William Stoker, and I have awoken because it is time for Grandsire’s spell to end.”
William feels Fabiana’s gaze jump to him, and she must be realizing that he had big news to share with her. The other vampires keep hidden among the trees, a good distance away, but at least they are listening.
“Now that humans have forgotten us and the conditions of the spell have been met, our species can be restored. I was able to commune with the guardian of Grandsire’s spell, forged of Stoker blood, and she told me that to bring back our forebears, we mustallreturn to death-sleep in a location that is the nexus of the spell.”
William hears rustling as vampires step closer through the underbrush, like they are jostling for a front-row view of him. Some of them are turning to each other to gauge how to feel about this revelation.
William is certain this is what Grandsire wanted—for him to be loyal to their species and see the full plan through. His grandfather knew William would not be eager to assume the mantle of leadership, and that he would not give up on his kind. Vampire or human, William is and always has been a family man.
Only now, it is not just the Stokers and his classmates he feels entrusted to look after, but all the vampires. This is why Grandsire chose him.
For hisempathy.
An immortal steps forth into the clearing, his skin blacker than the night, eyes more brilliant than even the moon.
All sound is sucked from the atmosphere as Leonardo the Bloody strides across the wild grass in a black hooded cloak.
“Why should we trust you, William Stoker?” He eyes Nate and Cisco’s bodies as he approaches, planting himself only a few feet away from William.
“For all we know, your duty is to the humans, and you are tricking us. Look at what you have done to your brothers, forcing them into death-sleep against their will.”
