Pawnbroker Jacob
Eshcol shows his son David the three pieces of a statue of a Chimera, which,
when assembled, create an object of great power; David, a devout Jew, questions
the wisdom of consorting with such an object. A band of thugs break in, kill
Jacob, beat David and carry off the Chimera—but they have left behind the tail,
one of the three necessary components….
In India, Taj Nital
has returned to his hometown and a friend, Ramon, pleads with him to see his
wife and son before it is too late. Taj punches him but regrets it
immediately….
In London, a band of
men have cornered Dracula, having seen him kill a woman they knew. Dracula
hypnotizes them into halting their attack on him and then he commands them to
fight one another as he takes off, heading to Joshua Eschol’s pawnshop, seeking
the Chimera. Peering in a window he sees Eschol’s dead body and he is
interrupted by a police officer. Dracula presents himself as a mere curious
onlooker and departs. But he saw David, bruised and holding the Chimera’s tail
piece. He dispatches his agent Shiela Whittier; she contacts David, claiming to
be a representative of the museum Jacob had called to have the Chimera
authenticated. They get acquainted….
In London, Frank Drake
is approached by Chastity Jones, bringing an offer of a job in Brazil
from his friend Danny Summer (seen briefly in issue #1). Franks has a shower
and cleanup at Chastity’s apartment and the two sleep together before heading
to the airport….
David Eshcol takes
Shiela to visit Lydia, an old woman of this acquaintance who is a midwife and
expert in bizarre folklore. Lydia gives them the history of the Chimera:
Created thirty thousand years ago in Atlantis, it has vanished from history
only to reappear after lengthy intervals to spur men to evil and violence.
Lydia also explains that David’s father wanted the Chimera to keep it out of
evil hands—and that it can be used for good as well as evil….
Dracula follows the
trail of the thugs who took the Chimera from Jacob Eshcol to a building where
he breaks in. Suddenly steel doors drop barring the exits while a disembodied
voice directs him further into the building. There, he is sealed in a room and
a vent opens and water begins pouring into the room…holy water….