P.N. Elrod - Dracula in London

The Contributors

Julie Barrett Author of Quantum Leap A-Z and several short stories

Nigel Bennett Winner of the Gemini Award for his portrayal of vampire patriarch LeCroix on the series Forever Knight

Elaine Bergstrom Author of the vampire novels Blood to Blood: The Dracula Story Continues and Mina

K. B. Bogen Holds a degree in Computer Science and Engineering and has a taste for the macabre

Gary A. Braunbeck Prolific short story writer and author of the critically-acclaimed collection Things Left Behind

Roxanne Longstreet Conrad Author of seven novels including Exile

Gene DeWeese Former technical writer who has authored over thirty novels

P. N. Pat Elrod Author of over sixteen novels including the continuing Vampire Files series, and editor of two vampire anthologies

Amy Grass Award-winning poet and professional scriptwriter

Tanya Huff Author of over sixteen novels including the Victoria Nelson vampire series

Nancy Kilpatrick Award-winning author of fourteen novels, over 125 short stories, and editor of seven anthologies

Catt Kingsgrave-Ernstein Prolific short story author

Jody Lynn Nye Author of twenty-two novels including four collaborations with Anne McCaffrey

Judith Proctor A Shakespeare- and theatre-inspired author who lives in England

Fred Saberhagen Author of the popular Berserker science fiction series, and the famous vampire novel, An Old Friend of the Family

Bradley H. Sinor Short story writer and media tie-in author

Chelsea Quinn Yarbro Author of the acclaimed Saint-Germain vampire novels, cartographer, musician, and tarot reader

Bill Zaget First-time author who lives in Ontario, Canada

Ace Books by P N Elrod The Vampire Files

BLOODLIST

LIFEBLOOD

BLOODCIRCLE

ART IN THE BLOOD

FIRE IN THE BLOOD

BLOOD ON THE WATER

A CHILL IN THE BLOOD

LADY CRYMSYN

RED DEATH

DEATH AND THE MAIDEN

DEATH MASQUE

DANCE OF DEATH

Dracula in London

Edited by

P. N. Elrod

ACE BOOKS, NEW YORK

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

DRACULA IN LONDON

An Ace Book / published by arrangement with the editor

PRINTING HISTORY Ace trade paperback edition / November 2001

All rights reserved. Dracula in London anthology copyright 2001 by Patricia Nead Elrod and Tekno Books.

Introduction by P. N. Elrod copyright 2001 by Patricia Nead Elrod.

To Each His Own Kind by Tanya Huff copyright 2001 by Tanya Huff.

Box Number Fifty by Fred Saberhagen copyright 2001 by Fred Saberhagen.

Wolf and Hound by Nigel Bennett and P. N. Elrod copyright 2001 by Nigel Bennett and P. N. Elrod.

The Dark Downstairs by Roxanne Longstreet Conrad copyright 2001 by Roxanne Longstreet Conrad.

Dear Mr. Bernard Shaw by Judith Proctor copyright 2001 by Judith Proctor.

The Three Boxes by Elaine Bergstrom copyright 2001 by Elaine Bergstrom.

Good Help by K. B. Bogen copyright 2001 by K. B. Bogen.

Everything to Order by Jody Lynn Nye copyright 2001 by Jody Lynn Nye.

Long-Term Investment by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro copyright 2001 by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro.

Places for Act Two! by Bradley H. Sinor copyright 2001 by Bradley H. Sinor. Beast by Amy L. Gruss and Catt Kingsgrave-Ernstein copyright 2001 by Amy L. Gruss and Catt

Kingsgrave-Ernstein.

A Most Electrifying Evening by Julie Barrett copyright 2001 by Julie Barrett. An Essay on Containment by Gene DeWeese copyright 2001 by Gene DeWeese.

Berserker by Nancy Kilpatrick copyright 2001 by Nancy Kilpatrick.

Curtain Call by Gary A. Braunbeck copyright 2001 by Gary A. Braunbeck.

Renfield or, Dining at the Bughouse by Bill Zaget copyright 2001 by Bill Zaget.

Cover art by Bill Dodge. Text design by Tiffany Kukec.

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ISBN 0-441-00858-5 (alk. paper)

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PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Dracula in London

Okay, I confess itI love Dracula! He IS the man!

The first time I remember seeing him was in Universals House of Dracula with elegant John Carradine in the role. I was instantly addicted. From then on, I couldnt get enough of all the variations out there, good and bad, sublime and silly. Umpteen years pass and it still gives me a charge!

Hence this book. I wanted to put together a collection of stories with the Count as the focus, not a mere cameo, and ask the question, What ELSE was Dracula doing in London when he was not being chased by Van Helsing and company?

I feel very fortunate that some of the best writers in the business decided to answer. To have the chance to read so many delightful variations on a theme has been a dream come true. My sincere thanks to all of you for contributing your time and imaginations to this project. Its been an honor.

***

In 1897 the original novel Dracula was published, bringing little note or notice to author Bram Stoker.

Writers hate when that happens.

But over the next century, as though to make up for it, Dracula turned into an honest-to-God cultural icon. You say the name nearly anywhere on the planet and youre bound to get a reaction of some sort. What are the odds? one might ask Mr. Stoker, who would likely be astonished. Or amused.

I like to think that somewhere he knows his tale eventually achieved an immortality greater than that which his character met in that dark and thrilling opus.

My hope is that he might well have enjoyed this tip of the hat collection of stories centered around his best-known creation.

P. N. Pat Elrod

Tanya Huff

London was everything the Count had imagined it to be when hed told Jonathan Harker of how hed longed to walk through the crowded streets to be in the midst of the whirl and rush of humanity. Although, he amended as he waited for a break in the evening traffic that would allow him to cross Piccadilly, a little less whirl and rush would be preferable.

He could see the house hed purchased across the street, but it might as well have been across the city for all he could reach it. Yes, hed wanted to move about unnoticed but this, this was wearing at his patience. And he had never been considered a patient man. Even as a man.

Finally, hed been delayed for as long as he was willing to endure. Sliding the smoked glasses down his nose, he deliberately met the gaze of an approaching horse. In his homeland, the effect would have been felt between one heartbeat and the next. Terror.

Panic. Flight. This London carriage horse, however, seemed to accept his presence almost phlegmatically.

Then the message actually made it through the citys patina to the equine brain.