Chapter 14

According to all of the major newspapers, the next to last day of the year was the coldest in Gotham. The temperature fell to three degrees below zero; combined with the wind chill, it felt like minus fifteen. The wind howled like a hungry child and the first major snowstorm of the year blanketed the city.

Vampires had mixed feelings about winter. On the one hand, the days were shorter so that meant that they could spend more time outside hunting the prey. On the other, the massive cold generally meant that fewer people walked the street which meant the pickings were even slimmer. Plus, there was the fact that most vampires--- the younger ones--- felt the cold as much as people did and were similarly inclined to stay inside and watch television.

Kotaski could barely tolerate such vampires. As one who had spent his formative years in the Carpathian Guard, he felt the cold no more than an Inuit would. When he had been a commander of a small army of vampires in Russia before the Decembrist Uprising, rumors had developed of one so strong and bloodthirsty that he would run through the Siberian nights stark naked. Hearing such tales would bring a smile to his face---- a visage which was not appealing even to other nosferatu. Only a buffoon would do something as childish and self-indulgent as that. And Kotaski was the consummate solider.

"How can you not wear a coat?"

Kotaski did not turn when he heard the voice of Prince Nicholae. He had known Nicholae for over four centuries, though he had not worked alongside him until the Serfs uprising in St. Petersburg under Alexander. There was a lot of respect and history between the two old vampires, which was the main reason he gave a small smile at his jape. If any of the lackeys under him had made such a remark, he would have cut their throats.

"I barely feel the chill," Kotaski said simply. "They call this winter, pah!!!" He spat onto the streets below. "It's not even freezing."

"Actually it is, at least according to the television." Nicholae gave a small smile of his own. "Not that I put much faith in that particular instrument. Ghastly thing."

"Even if it is freezing, this is not winter. These Americans do not even know what true cold is."

"You're thinking of the gulag again, aren't you?" At one point during the October Revolution Kotaski had ended up working as a prison guard in Siberia.

"They said that Siberia was so cold even the dead shivered." A small smile passed across Kotaski's face. "And, sometimes, they did." The smile disappeared. "Here in America, it's never that cold, even in the mountains. Yet these newborns can barely stand it. All the men we call soldiers--- bundled up like old women to do man's work."

"Only those as old as us no longer notice the cold." Now the cheerful look on Nicholae's face became pensive. "And those like us are few and far between."

Kotaski nodded. Having been a member of the guard at the height of Vlad the Impaler's reign of terror, he had once had several comrades who were as tough as he was but over the centuries… "Von Klatka, Vardalek, Iorga… all came to the end of the road. Dead at the hands of the Slayers."

Nicholae walked out onto the balcony of the apartment complex that held the center of his operation. Only he, Kotaski and a few select vampires knew of its location and Nicholae had been extremely careful to make certain that there was nothing to lead others to this building. On the rare occasion that he had left the complex, he had only done so via the various underground passages located in the basement. Most times Nicholae never even walked out onto the balcony for fear of being spotted by the wrong people, but the chill of the night would keep people off the street. Even in this case, he remained in the shadows.

"How many of the Guard did the Slayer kill?"

Kotaski looked at Nicholae strangely. Unlike most vampires that he had known in the five centuries he had survived, Nicholae was unique in that he rarely discussed the past. Not only did he refrain from discussing his failures, he abstained from discussing his triumphs, which had been manifold. The Carpathian briefly wondered what was troubling his superior's mind then shrugged it off and decided to simply answer the question.

"Several when we remained unified; many more after Tepes fell. Probably as many as seventy-five." Kotaski grimaced in remembrance.

"How many Slayers did it take?"

Kotaski thought. "I believe there were eight." He shook his head. "We kept killing them and they kept returning."

"'Once one falls, another rises.' That was the phrase I heard over and over. " Nicholae frowned. "They are the one check that keeps us from overrunning the earth. We can kill a hundred, a thousand, and that power will keep coming. You have no idea how many vampires I have known who thought they could be the one that stopped it. " He shook his head. "Even Henrich---- the only vampire in six hundred years who I ever feared---- held the same delusion and he met the same fate as all the others."

At this Kotaski could no longer contain himself. "Highness, if you are still concerned about the Slayer who has arrived in Gotham----"

"No, no, Kotaski." Nicholae shrugged him off. "It's true that this Slayer could pose a heavy obstacle to our coming success but she is only one girl. A powerful, deadly and possibly the greatest concern that we will face, but there is only one of her. It is what happens once we defeat her and we emerge triumphant over Gotham."

"You are afraid of the repercussions."

Nicholae nodded. "I have spent decades on my plan, waiting for time and location and circumstances to meet in exactly the right place.

Now when my plans are near fruition, I find myself worried about what happens after," He walked further out into the cold. "The Summers girl will challenge me, no matter what the consequences, and now she has an army of warriors all filled with the same powers and strengths as her." He paused. "The ensuing carnage could make St. Petersburg seem like a mere skirmish."

Kotaski would never admit it, but he shared the same concerns as his superior. They had made some extraordinary achievements in Gotham City over the past four months, and despite the work of the Batman as his friends and the arrival of the Slayer, they were within weeks of a triumph that would be almost unparalleled since the days of his first master. But once they had that power, what would come next? Even if Summers and the others in Los Angeles were unaware of their efforts now, they most certainly would not let the largest city on the East Coast fall to vampires without a fight. The only thing that could follow would be war---- total and without quarter and though Kotaski had faith that they would triumph, the casualties would be in the hundreds.

Despite his worries, he knew that for the right now there was only one approach that he could take. "We can not focus on the problems of the future, Highness, because we have no idea of what they will truly be. The only thing we can do is concentrate on the present and on what we have to do now to emerge victorious."

For a moment, Kotaski though that the Prince had not heard him. Then he lifted his head and gave a small smile. "As always Kotaski, you have the ability to bring things into perspective. Very well. Let us concentrate on the final stages of our venture here, which I hope are rapidly approaching." Nicholae began to walk off the balcony into the relative comfort of the indoors. "You have talked with all of our captains?"

"I have." Kotaski tried to keep the disdain out of his voice when he talked about the vampires that were now managing the underworld in Gotham City but some of it came through anyway.

Nicholae shook his head. "Kotaski, when will you get past this foolish prejudice against the people in this country? You have lived and fought among our kind on this continent for over a century and a half. You know that the vampires here are cunning and ruthless as anywhere else."

"I am aware of that, Excellency. But----" He shook his head. "Americans are not soldiers. They are soft and pliant by nature. They do not have the skill and tenacity---"

"--- 'to truly do battle in a war against the people.' Kotaski, how long must we have this same argument?" Nicholae spoke bemusedly. "How much longer will it take you to accept the Americans as they are?"

The smile on the Prince's face changed and became crueler. "In any case, the very softness and pliancy of the people is what will enable us to emerge victorious. So let us not fault the hand that we have been dealt." The smile disappeared. "We have strayed from the point again. Are our captains ready for the next step in our plan?'

"They are." The same cruel smile now appeared on Kotaski's face as he contemplated that next stage. "According to all of our forces, the roots for your plan have all but been put into place. All five of the major crime syndicates in this city now have at least one vampire within the chain of command. According to them, conflict among them has made the syndicates a tinderbox. All we need do is light the fuse."

"That's excellent. What about the other players in this town, the would-be arch-villains?" Now there was contempt in Nicholae's voice. Both commander and supreme general were in complete agreement about the semi-lunatics such as the Riddler and Two-Face--- that they defaced the true nature of evil with their activity.

"Five of those who were freed from Arkham earlier this month have been recaptured and placed in penitentiaries outside of the boundaries of the city. The one called Zeus has now agreed to ally himself with us."

Nicholae's eyebrow went up. "Really? How did we manage that particular miracle? Has he been turned?"

"No, to that we owe the assistant of Doctor Crane." Kotaski had enough respect for the scientist's ability to refer him by his Christian name.

"By use of one of his concoctions he was able to convince Zeus that I and our colleagues were servants of Lord Hades." The Carpathian shook his head in memory of it. "Zeus has said that he is willing to support our efforts in any way that we desire."

"Not a bad proposition."

"You are honestly considering dealing with that lunatic?"

"Zeus may be insane, but he is far from a fool. In any case, he has financial, criminal and political influence in and out of Gotham City. To have access to his resources could be a strong advantage," Nicholae put his hands together. "So much for those we set free. What about the ones that already have their freedom?"

"We have reached an understanding with most of the others. "Kotaski counted them off. "Cobblepot was not pleased with the inroads we were making on some of his more lucrative ventures, but he has been willing to negotiate. As you observed, he is more businessman than criminal. Our talks with Nygma have been cryptic---"

"--- as is his nature." said Nicholae slightly amused

"---- but he understands how the world works and the level of our numbers. He may not align with us, but neither will he interfere. "A small smile appeared on Kotaski's face almost despite himself. "Miss Kyle will not commit one way or the other, yet I do not think she is much of a loose cannon. Quite frankly I'm not sure why you had me talk with her. While she is a very charming lady, I don't think she ranks very high in the totem pole around here."

"Perhaps not, but she has influence in certain circles that may make her invaluable if we can find a way to work with her."

Kotaski thought his superior knew more about Selena Kyle's activities then he was letting on but he didn't press. He was about to deal with the least favorite of the people he had to deal with. "This leaves us with the question of the buffoon they call the Joker."

Nicholae frowned. "Have any of our men spotted this fool?"

Kotaski shook his head. "Say what you will about Joker's activities, he is remarkably good at keeping himself hidden. At least, he could if he were determined to remain elusive."

"How many more killings have there been since we last spoke?"

"Three more, all with the same punctures above the jugular." Now Kotaski frowned. "They also had that ridiculous trademark of his--- the lips drawn into that stupid smile."

Now Nicholae sighed. "That makes nine in the past eleven days."

"I'll never understand the logic of this fool. He demonstrates all the ability for slaughter that I have found lacking in some vampires. He has killed more people in his lifetime than some of us do in a decade. Yet he constantly leaves these corpses behind like bread crumbs. It's almost like he's daring us to catch him."

"That is because that is exactly what he wants."

Kotaski seems baffled. "Why? He must know that if we catch him we will destroy him."

"That's just it. He thinks we won't." Nicholae frowned. "He is convinced that every time he is captured by the authorities he will be left to fight another day and these fools in charge of policing this city have let him. The commissioner's daughter was paralyzed and his young wife shot in front of him, yet he still allowed the Joker to live."

"You are serious?" When Nicholae nodded, he burst out. "But that's lunacy! Even by the absurd standards of this country, the commissar could have killed him and had no fear of reprisal from the courts."

"It is an example of the softness and pliancy of these Americans. Joker feeds on it as we do blood. No doubt they believe that by sparing his life they are not giving into their lower impulses." Now a small grin started on Nicholae's face. "Fortunately, you and I have no such qualms."

A similar smile appeared on Kotaski's face. "Indeed." The smile disappeared. "Of course, this follows the presumption that we will be able to locate this lowly comic. "

"Are you saying that we have no idea as to his location?"

"We have found his hiding places occasionally but he has never been there when we arrived."

"There's no way to accelerate this process?"

"We do what we can, but the police and other law figures in Gotham have an interest in finding Joker as well, though for different purposes than ours. Since we have not yet begun the final phase, I have held our men back." Kotaski leaned forward. "Give the order and we shall hunt him down like the dog that he is."

Nicholae considered this briefly. "I think that we have reached the point where we can be more overt in our method." He nodded. "One thing, though. When you finally track him down, leave him alive. "

"You're sure of this?"

Nicholae nodded. "I intend to make an example of him to this city." Noting the Carpathian's disappointment, he added. "Buck up, Kotaski; I said I want him alive, not that I want him unhurt."

A gleam appeared in Kotaski's eyes. "I see, Excellency."

"So much for the law-breakers… that leaves the law-enforcers. How are we on that?"

"The police are putting up a false front, but it must be coming clear even to the layman that they have no real control over the crime in the city which would be less of a problem if they were the true bulwark of law enforcement." Kotaski shook his head. "Unfortunately, they are not."

"How goes the battle with those who hide their faces from us?" Nicholae tried to speak as if the answer was of no significance, when it fact the fact of the entire venture hung on it.

"The ones they call Robin and Nightwing are troublesome, almost like parasites feeding on a host. We have sent a dozen vampires against each of them and they have managed to defeat all of them. I have seen them in action from afar." Kotaski spoke with grudging praise. "They are formidable in combat but until now they have only sent newborns off to fight them."

"And how old are these mere children?" Nicholae spoke with more than a hint of sarcasm. 'Newborn' was a term that had been in common use in Kotaski's years in the guard. At the time, it was meant to refer to vampires who had only recently been sired. As the centuries had passed Kotaski had come to use it in the same way that old men referred to young ones--- it could mean from six months to sixty years.

"Most of them were sired while we have been in Gotham. However, four of the ones who fell had been around for at least thirty years. One of them, Navin, had been here years before we arrived in this town."

One of Nicholae's eyebrows went up. "Have there been any survivors of these confrontations?"

Kotaski nodded. "Several men fled the fight. They said that they were stronger in combat than any one they had fought in Gotham." The Carpathian scoffed. "Clearly none of them had ever been in London or Odessa, let alone served in the Guard."

"Again, you stray from the point, Kotaski, which is, how strong are these men?"

Kotaski considered this very seriously for several seconds. Finally he spoke. "The one they call Robin is young, barely out of his teens. He fights well, but I believe that if we send a greater number of soldiers he will fall to one of them. The one called Nightwing is more problematic. It is clear he has been fighting longer and uses a different method of battle. We have sent the one they call Spike to handle him, and he might be able to do the job…" The Carpathian paused, "if our trust in him is justified."

"We will deal with William momentarily. There are more pressing matters first," The Prince closed his eyes as if he did not want to face the people who came next. "Such as how do we deal with the Bat."

Kotaski shook his own head. This man had troubled him far more than adversary had in nearly a hundred years. "The way that he has fought against our forces, one could almost think he was one of us. That is how lithe and crafty this Bat truly is. He has been under siege by almost every action that we have taken in Gotham City in the past four months, yet he doesn't seem any weaker than the day we arrived. Fifty one of our men have gone into battle against him. Only four have survived to fight another day." Kotaski shook his head. "The only man I have ever known to have the strength and resilience of this Batman died at my hands in Vladivostok a century ago. Even then, it took a dozen of us to stop him."

"How many of our captains did we send in against him so far?"

"Gilliam, Samuel and McMurphy."

Kotaski paused before revealing the last name. Christopher McMurphy had been an old acquaintance of Nicholae's since the Roaring Twenties. He had expressed his admiration for the Irish man's fighting abilities often enough.

Nicholae considered this for almost a minute before speaking again. "The most ferocious vampire hunter I ever met was a man named Daniel Holtz. I crossed paths with him in Prague in 1769. We were both lucky to survive it."

Kotaski knew this was a tremendous understatement. Prague had been the site of a vicious battle between humans and vampires in September of 1769. Two hundred men had fought against fifty vampires, and in both cases they vastly underestimated their opponents' strength. Scarcely more than a quarter of each group managed to emerge from the conflict.

"Holtz was an extraordinary fighter. He fought with a ferociousness and purpose that I have seen in few vampires, let alone men." Now there was admiration in Nicholae's voice, a tone that Kotaski heard even less than pleasant nostalgia. "For two decades, he was the equivalent of the boogeyman to almost all vampires. There were only two who felt otherwise and they were the ones that inspired his hatred."

Kotaski knew this story too. "You mean Darla and Angelus."

Nicholae nodded. "I don't know how Holtz managed to cross paths with them and survive. I do know that the two of them tried to deter him from his course by murdering his family. In that they failed. If anything, the murders of his wife and children only inspired him to greater efforts."

Kotaski knew what Nicholae was driving at. "You are saying that the plan to destroy the Bat by taking away everything precious to him may end up working against us."

"Taking away his allies one by one may be enough to finally destroy him. But it may make him a more dangerous foe. As we will know, vengeance is a powerful motivator. And if he can deplete our numbers simply by doing his job…."

Nicholae trailed off and the soldier got his point. "Who shall we send to kill him?"

The Prince considered this for a moment. "There is only one vampire I know who can handle this, who has enough drive."

He gave a smile that Kotaski had come to know had only one interpretation. "When shall I begin, Excellency?" asked the Carpathian in a voice filled with pride.

"Obviously, there is still much that I will need you to do. Also it will probably aid you if his capacity for action has been severely depleted," Nicholae thought for a few minutes. "Three nights after we fire the first official salvo should be long enough to wait for you drive him to his knees."

"It will be sufficient. " Kotaski was almost going to rub his hands together when he remembered. "That leaves us with one final threat."

"The Slayer." For the first time, a hint of hesitation entered Nicholae's voice. "Has her identity been verified?"

Kotaski nodded grimly. "She is the one known as Faith, the second one who held the original power of the Slayer."

"And next to the Summers girl, the most dangerous woman alive."

If anyone else had said this Kotaski might have laughed. But he had seen the damage they had done on his comrades in the Guard. "Tales of this Slayer have been spreading across the underworld for six years." He said slowly. "They that during the War against the First she killed a dozen Turokhans."

"Even if she hadn't, she would be a dangerous adversary for her disposal of Kakistos."

"She destroyed him?" A sense of real fear began to tingle in Kotaski. Kakistos had been a vicious vampire hundreds of years before the Carpathian guard had been sired. "Then we may have even greater difficulties than we expected."

Nicholae shook his head and thought for several seconds. "As far as I know, there only three vampires in the known world who have killed more than one Slayer. " He pointed at Kotaski. "And you and I are two of them." Kotaski nodded. "How many slayers have fallen at your hands?"

Kotaski mentally counted. "Six." The Carpathian then made a confession that he would have only made to an elder vamp such as the Prince. "And each time it was never easy. It always took a lot of effort. The last one I had to skirmish with four times before I was able to snap her neck."

"Yes." Nicholae thought back. "That was before Kerensky fell, was it not?"

"Yes, while I was in Petrograd."

"As for myself," said Nicholae, "I have killed eight," Now he frowned. "But the last one was in Budapest almost two centuries ago. I have not faced a Slayer since." He shook his head. "Perhaps that's the reason I have survived so long."

"I would hardly call our existence over the past two hundred years mere survival." Kotaski sounded a little indignant.

"Nor would I. I doubt that any Slayer would have an easy time defeating either of us, but the fact remains, these Slayers are growing more cunning as the years pass. They are living longer and longer which means they also know how to survive."

"Are you saying that neither of us should kill this Slayer?"

Nicholae shook his head. "No, but perhaps we should not take any more risks than we absolutely have to. We must not die, not this close to the finish."

The germ of the idea that Kotaski had been contemplating for the past week finally came to him. "If I may be so bold, Excellency---"

"You have an idea."

Kotaski nodded. "The blond-haired one who calls himself Spike—"

"Your men have been keeping him at arms length, I trust," Nicholae chastened his subordinate.

"His access to our work is very limited. But perhaps we can make better use of him."

"The man is little better than an upstart," Nicholae said disdainfully.

"Yes, but he's also the third vampire still living who has killed more than one Slayer."

"Indeed." Now Nicholae was pondering. "Two Slayers in little then a century is impressive I admit, but what if the rumors are true?"

"That he has a soul? That he works with the enemy now?" Kotaski became bolder than he had been in a while with the Prince. "Perhaps it's true. But even it is, we might be able to control him. Other forces have."

Nicholae considered what Kotaski was suggesting. He thought he knew what the guardsman was talking about. There might be a way to handle it. "It has been years since I used my power on another vampire. Still…" He thought some more. "It's my understanding that William the Bloody has been wanting to meet me."

"He has."

"Then perhaps it's time we did meet face to face."

"And if it is a trick?" asked Kotaski.

"Then we remove him from the picture entirely. Either way, we come out ahead."

"He could make it difficult for us even if he is on our side."

"I'm not afraid." The predatory smile returned to Nicholae's face.

"After decades, we're almost at the endgame. And I'm not going to let anyone--- be they vigilante, Slayer or young Turk---- stop me now."