In Brazil, Frank Drake
finds himself under attack by a horde of zuvembie (see issue #32) which
drive him toward the edge of a cliff. Suddenly, Brother Voodoo arrives and, as
the monsters hurl Frank over the edge, dispatches his loa to possess Frank and
see that he lands safely on the ground….
In London, Inspector
Chelm observes Dracula’s Parliamentarian slave deliver the stolen file to his
master who learns that Doctor Sun is his unseen enemy. Chelm leaps out of
hiding and fires a silver bullet at Dracula, who, having head Chelm coming,
easily pulls his servant in front of him as a shield. Other police reveal
themselves and open fire on Dracula but he changes to his mist form and flies
off, unaware he is being watched by another unseen enemy, Deacon Frost….
In India, his son
dead, Taj Nital has reunited with his wife and, on her advice, writes to Rachel
van Helsing that he will not be returning to aid her in her mission….
At Scotland Yard,
Quincy Harker meets with Inspector Chelm and police psychiatrist Dr. Scott to
puzzle out Dracula’s next moves. They think that after Dracula’s brush with
death in issue #14, he became afraid of dying. Rachel van Helsing arrives and
agrees, adding that the Count began losing his powers after his encounter with
Doctor Sun (issue #21) and Chelm agrees to check on Sun. Chelm also informs
Quincy that Blade is wanted for murder….
At her fashion
house, designer Daphne von Wilkinson berates her male employee for his inferior
work and threatens him with termination if he doesn’t shape up. She broods
about how her mother was always dominated by her autocratic father and she has
devoted herself to gaining power and respect in her male-dominated industry.
Her banker Jackson Hardy arrives to remind her that the payments on her loans
are late and an examination of her records show that her own poor decisions led
to her financial situation, mainly her penchant for hiring women regardless of
their qualifications. Hardy informs her that he will get a court order for her
eviction the next day. Then a hungering Dracula crashes through her window and, weak, he agrees to grant her a favor in exchange for blood. Daphne calls for
Jackson Hardy to return and makes a clumsy effort to seduce him into extending
the loan; he sees through her transparent attempts and rebuffs her so she calls
in Dracula to kill him and feast on his blood, with a reminder that he will
carry out her revenge….