Blake sensed he was on the verge of finding out why. He ventured cautiously into the dark.
* * *
Gordon banged the files against the air duct to straighten them. His gaze drifted across the familiar rooftop, then came to an abrupt stop.
His jaw dropped, and he forgot all about the arrest reports.
The shattered searchlight had been repaired. A brand-new bat-symbol, freshly cast in gleaming steel, was mounted atop an unbroken glass lens.
Stepping over to it—hesitantly, as if afraid it might vanish—he ran his fingers reverently along the outline of the emblem. Then he stared up at the night sky, looking for a sign.
Perhaps he wasn’t on his own after all.
Blake left the daylight behind. Descending into stygian blackness, he pulled a flare out of the bag, and then lit it. A bright red flame sparked to life deep inside the cave.
The sudden glare awoke a rustling, chittering mass high above his head. He ducked in alarm as thousands of screeching creatures swooped down from their roosts, flying wildly throughout the cavern. Leathery wings flapped all around him, buffeting him, engulfing him in a flurry of…bats.
* * *
Alfred finished his drink. He folded his paper and took out his wallet. A familiar sense of melancholy came over him as he faced another long night of guilt and regret. Happier people laughed a few tables over. Bracing himself for yet another painful disappointment, he glanced over at an attractive couple—who were not strangers at all.
Bruce smiled at Alfred, looking more relaxed and at peace than the old man would have thought possible.
After a moment, Alfred nodded back at him, knowing that nothing more needed to be said. Bruce turned back to his companion, a lovely young brunette wearing an exquisite pearl necklace. She bore a distinct resemblance to a certain light-fingered maid Alfred had briefly encountered once before.
Selina, I think.
He paid his bill, leaving the waiter a generous tip, and departed with a spring in his step. But he didn’t look back.
The bats were everywhere, screeching in the dark. Blake crouched defensively as their wings and bodies swirled around him like a living cyclone. An instinctive sense of panic bubbled up inside him, but he forced it back down.
He knew why Wayne had brought him here.
Bats were more than symbols of fear. In Gotham, they had come to stand for hope and justice and a legend that was bigger than just one man. A hero who could be anyone. He raised his head as the bats welcomed him to their abode.
He rose and was swallowed up by the darkness of their wings.
END
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I’ve been a Batman fan for as long as I can remember, so I jumped at the chance to novelize the final epic chapter of the Dark Knight trilogy. I’m grateful to all the people who helped make this book possible, including my editor Steve Saffel, my agent Russell Galen, and the enormously helpful people at Warner Bros., including Josh Anderson, Shane Thompson, Izzy Hyams, Jill Benscoter, Erica Rahn, Jordan Goldberg, and Emma Thomas.
The folks at Titan Books also labored heroically to bring this book to press, so thanks also to Nick Landau, Vivian Cheung, Katy Wild, Tim Whale, Cath Trechman, Elizabeth Bennett, Julia Lloyd, and Natalie Laverick.
And, of course, I have to thank Christopher Nolan, Jonathan Nolan, and David Goyer for bringing their saga to such a powerful conclusion—and giving me such a terrific story. I hope I’ve done justice to it.
Finally, I could not have written this book without the help of my girlfriend, Karen Palinko, who held down the fort at home while I was off doing Bat-business in Burbank!
Greg Cox, Oxford, PA. 2012
For more fantastic fiction from Titan Books, check out our website
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Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Contents
Eight Years Ago …
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-Two
Chapter Forty-Three
Chapter Forty-Four
Chapter Forty-Five
Chapter Forty-Six
Chapter Forty-Seven
Acknowledgements