There Can Only Be One

  © 2018 Sa’id Salaam The Dark Prince 3: There Can Only Be One

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote a brief passage in reviews. First edition, January 5, 2018. Printed in the United States of America

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

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  Editor: LDS Literary Services

  The Dark Prince 3:

  There Can Only Be One

  A Novel by

  Sa’id Salaam

  Prologue

  "Well, hello there, handsome!" a lovely lady sang in that voice lovely ladies sing in when trying to get laid.

  "Hello, yourself!" the handsome man sang back in a baritone voice of a dude with some dick to donate.

  The bar was packed tonight, but they had made eye contact from across the room and mutually gravitated towards each and met in the middle. They were on the dance floor, so they danced. More like swayed to the jazz quartet on the stage.

  "Would you like to go somewhere quiet?" she asked after a few minutes of verbal foreplay. She watched his movements enough to know he could move his hips like she liked.

  "I would rather go somewhere loud and sweaty," he suggested instead. The slow smile that spread on her face spoke before her head began to nod and her mouth began to open.

  "Loud and sweaty is just how I like it!" she said with a wicked smile.

  "Mind if my wife joins us?" he asked which explained the pretty woman who came upon them.

  "The more the merrier!" she agreed and off they went. The swinging couple took the woman to their hotel, which was fine by her. She knew how messy a threesome could be. "I'm going to devour you both!"

  "We know," the wife said. They made a quick walk through the Toronto downtown district and went inside the swank hotel.

  The couple usually went for C class motels to do their dirty work, but they were in a hurry. Life had just thrown a new curve that they needed to tend to. Business before pleasure even though their business was a pleasure.

  "Mmmm, where do I start?" the woman asked as they entered the room. The married couple both stripped down to their skivvys and were equally impressive. He was a chunk of deep chocolate while she was a creamy caramel delight.

  "Let's start with some head," the wife said and whipped a solid silver sword from beneath the bed.

  The guest went from shock to shocking in an instant. A loud hiss emitted as her fangs and claws popped out. Kristine took a swing that would have taken off her head, but the vampire sprang and gripped the ceiling above.

  "Another one!" Martin announced and pulled the crossbow. Lately they had run across vampires who were stronger and harder to kill. He took aim and sent a couple stakes her way.

  "Missed me, bitch!" she said as she scurried out of the way along the ceiling. Now it was her turn to attack. She was a blur of fangs and claws as she first went after Kristine.

  Kristine managed to fight her off using the sword. Martin couldn't risk a shot since he might hit his wife. He played it safe and went for the tranquilizer gun. He fired at her back but she quickly spun and snatched the dart out of the air. She flung it and caused it to lodge in the ceiling. The distraction gave Kristine a shot and she took it.

  "Ha-yah!" she grunted and took a swipe that took her leg off. That caused another distraction that gave Martin a chance to attack, as well. He swung his own sword and lopped off her arm.

  "Ta-dah!" the woman vampire sang as the limbs hopped up on their own and reattached themselves.

  "The fuck !" the couple said in unified amazement. The lady vampire lolled her head back in laughter, but she who laughs last often loses their head. The vampire hunting couple both swung their swords simultaneously. Martin's blade cut straight through her face and cut her head in half. Kristine's blade hit her throat and knocked her head completely off.

  They both frantically chopped, sliced and dice the severed head into several pieces. Then, stomped the pieces as if doing the river dance. They were breathless and spent when they stepped back to watch and wait. To their relief, it did the trick and the vampire stayed dead. Kristine put a stake through the heart just in case.

  Vampires were on the rise all over the world. They often battled each other to bloody conclusions unless the Jones got to them first. There was a worldwide battle for supremacy because there can only be one.

  CHAPTER 1

  Martin and Kristine sat and stared at the little boy watching TV in front of them. He had finally told her about Katrina and they both wondered if it were true. Was their child a vampire? they asked themselves now that they both watched him closely for signs of the supernatural.

  "He can fly," Kristine said as proof of his paranormal prowess.

  "He didn't fly. It was just a good jump," Martin said in defense of his jump from the top of the monkey bars.

  "A good jump for an Olympian maybe," she shot back. Kristine closed her eyes and scrunched her face at the child's back.

  "What are you doing?" her husband asked in a whisper.

  "Seeing if he can read my thoughts!" she said as if he should have known.

  "Well, that's just crazy, Kristine," Martin laughed heartily. A little too heartily and she snapped her head in his direction.

  "Mmhm, you already did that, huh?" she nodded and he nodded along with her. They both knew what needed to be done but hadn't done it yet.

  Kristine would have to draw his blood so it could be tested. However, she, like any other mother, didn't like to hurt her child and the child did not like needles.

  "Can we see BimBo?" Martin junior pleaded and bounced up and down while pointing at the clown on the screen.

  "What the heck is a BimBo?" his father wanted to know. Not that it really mattered since he gave his wife and child anything their hearts desired.

  "BimBo is the one I was telling you about. He'll be in Manchester this weekend," Kristine replied.

  "Oooh!" Martin nodded like he remembered, but he didn't remember.

  "You don't remember," Kristine laughed since she knew her husband well. "Anyway, your son just loves him."

  "So I guess we're going to Manchester," Martin sighed. His family was his world, so they could have and do whatever they wanted.

  Little Martin played himself to sleep so his father picked him up and carted him up to his room. Kristine was wide awake, but he still carried her up the stairs, as well. She paid for the trip with kisses along the way, then gave him a tip when they reached their bedroom.

  "Mmmm," Martin moaned when she planted a kiss on the tip, then a long lick on the shaft.

  "Easy, buddy," she laughed when his knees buckled and helped him on the bed. He was mortal now, so she now had the advantage in the sack. He followed her lead which led to a screeching orgasm.

  "My turn," Martin declared and took control. Come to find out, vampire or no vampire, he was still quite the dick slinger. The couple copulated for an hour until they were both breathless and satisfied. Then they cuddled up to chat until sleep came to claim them.

  "Not bad for an old man," Kristine complimented. She always got a kick of reminding him that he was in his seventi
es. The cure settled him around forty years old that made them the same age.

  "And you're not bad for a cougar," he quipped since she had been his senior. They bantered back and forth like couples deep in love tend to do. Finally, the mood darkened when they arrived back to the inevitable.

  "We could just give him a dose of the cure. Why take chances? Katrina will come for him one day," she said with worry in her tone.

  Martin and Kristine were the premier vampire hunters in the world. The outbreak of vampire attacks were steady on the rise, so they traveled the world subtracting them. Still, she was deathly afraid of Katrina. She was a daywalker and those are the most powerful ones. Martin was one himself until he let her cure him.

  "And we'll be ready for her when she does!" he shot back immediately. It sounded good enough for a nuzzle from his wife even if he wasn't quite so sure inside. "Besides, we can't give him the cure for a few reasons."

  "I'm listening," Kristine replied and leaned up. She was hoping to he convinced so she could put those worries to bed.

  "First, we don't even know if he has it. He's normal. He eats normal food, drinks juice boxes by the dozen. Plus, the kid loves the sun! No way is he a vampire!" he said, sounding somewhat like a used car salesman.

  "And two?" she asked, hoping for more. He was right so far, but that didn't explain why Katrina came to them.

  "Two is the cure is determined by the will. There is no way we can know what his will is. If he were a carrier, the cure could kill him," he explained. That settled the matter once and for all since she would not risk her child's life.

  "I still need to draw his blood," she said and flipped over. He embraced her from behind so they could sleep. This also helped in the morning since all she had to do was lift her leg and he would slide right in.

  *****

  "Good to see the place has bounced back!" Kristine nodded approvingly when they reached the city of Manchester, England. The city was hit by some fool blowing himself up after a concert in the name of Allah. She came from a Muslim family herself and knew enough to know terrorism has nothing to do with Islam.

  "Yeah," Martin agreed with mixed emotions in his tone as he drove. Kristine turned her head to investigate until she saw what he was looking at. Her head began to shake along with his when she saw the group of teens dressed like vampires.

  "Had it been dark, I would have hopped out and hit them with it!" she growled, then casted a glance into the backseat at their son. He was still singing the BimBo song along with his tablet.

  The couple hunted vampires for a living as well as for the fun of it. The vampire craze led to some close calls and imitators almost getting a stake through their heart. The “it” Kristine spoke of was a semiautomatic crossbow that shot wooden stakes. It was just part of the bag of tricks they kept in their arsenal.

  Silver bullets, silver chains, and silver infused tranquilizer darts also helped capture or kill. If worse came to worse, they kept and ace up their sleeves, locking it in a safe for safekeeping.

  "Reminds me of the little black boys back home in America. They play dress up like thugs and goons and the white cops can't tell the difference," he sighed.

  "Don't forget the little black girls doing the same," she reminded of the good girls dressing like thots. "For some reason, no one wants to dress up like Steve Jobs or Sir Richard Branson!"

  They went back and forth about the perils of puberty until they arrived at the venue. BimBo was such a big draw, they had to rent an arena for several shows. Little Martin along with a million other kids fell in love with the charismatic clown. He had a hypnotic affect that affected the pockets of parents all over Europe.

  Parents were strong-armed by whiny kids to buy BimBo shoes, BimBo dolls, BimBo lunch boxes, and everything else with his likeness. There were movies, slippers, games, and even juice boxes. Kids may have loved him, but some parents wished he was dead.

  "BimBo, BimBo, BimBo," Little Martin cheered as they entered the venue. He joined the tens of thousands of other chanting children.

  "Jim Jones," Kristine mumbled under her breath. They were seated in the expensive front row and watched the show.

  Martin and his wife managed to get through the three-hour show then lined up so their son could take pictures with his favorite clown. Both wondered who was really behind the heavy makeup and red nose. She decided to find out once the show was over.

  "Mommy will be right back," Kristine sang as she strapped her child into his seat.

  "Okay, mommy," he happily agreed since daddy had far less rules. She grabbed a bag from the trunk and made her way back inside.

  "Excuse me ma'am, you can't go in there!" a burly security guard said when she reached the clown’s dressing room. She disagreed with a karate chop to his neck. He agreed with the blow and took an impromptu nap on the spot.

  "Uh! Oh, it's not what it looks like!" BimBo blurted when Kristine barged in on him. He took his fangs out of the woman's neck and let her drop limply below.

  "Well, that's good because it looks like you're a blood sucking vampire who leaves a trail of orphans after every show," she suggested even though she knew the answer.

  The clown used his cover as an entertainer to stay under the radar. Being a vampire or vampire helper was all the rage, but the smart ones still tried to remain in the shadows. Theirs was a dynamic duo of vampire hunters leaving a trail of vampire ashes on every continent.

  BimBo went on the attack when he realized who she was and why she was here. His fangs were already out as he leaped across the room in a blur. He may have been fast but she was faster.

  Kristine whipped the crossbow out and let two stakes go. BimBo hissed as the wooden projectiles entered his body. He landed with a thud and she was on top of him. Two more stakes pinned him to the floor below.

  "Now you can live or die. The choice is yours," she explained clearly as she pulled a syringe of cloudy liquid.

  "No!" the clown hissed and roared as she jabbed the needle into his forehead. She pressed the plunger in and injected her cure or kill depending on his will.

  Kristine took a step back since some vampires imploded when injected. They fight so hard, they just blow up and she had just washed her hair. No one wants vampire guts in their freshly washed hair.

  BimBo shook and shivered as he fought the internal changes he was going through. Kristine just shook her head. It always amazed her how many vampires chose death over life. They resisted the cure and got the kill instead.

  "Your choice," she told the dying vampire on her way out of the door. The guard was still napping as she stepped out of the dressing room. No sooner than the door closed, a loud pop echoed through the space. The insides of the clown were now on the outside of the clown. She gratefully patted her curls and hopped in the car with her favorite guys.

  "When can we see BimBo again?" Little Martin wanted to know.

  "If he comes back to town," she agreed, knowing he was now out of business.

  CHAPTER 2

  "But we love it here," Kristine whined as a last appeal. They had debated the pros and cons before she resorted to whining.

  "And Katrina does, too," Martin reminded and sealed the deal.

  "I guess America isn't too bad?" she asked since he was right. Katrina had popped up several times at several places. She never said a word when she appeared. Just stared at their child and licked her lips. Neither tried to kill her because she was too strong. If she killed them, no one could protect their child.

  "Yes, America is bad. Still, which city shall we live in?" he answered and asked. They had enough money to live comfortably in any city of the country.

  "Atlanta has bad memories," she suggested right off the bat to eliminate that option.

  "California? Nah. New York!" Martin exclaimed. He watched his wife ponder for a few seconds before her head began to nod. New York was a big enough city to get lost in. Plus, there were frequent vampire reports in the tri-state area.

  "It would cut down on tra
vel expenses," she reasoned. With that, the Jones family was moving back to America.

  Their English chateau was traded for a midtown high rise. Once they were settled in, they resumed their routine of taking their son to the park.

  "He's going to have to lose the accent before school. These New York kids are rough," Martin teased of their prim and proper child.

  "I suppose, 'yo son' and 'sup, B' would be more to your liking?" Kristine shot back. "Besides, he's a vampire. He can take care of himself."

  "That boy is not a—" Martin was saying until their son made another huge leap off the swing. He still wasn't convinced but could only hope he wasn't.

  "Father? Will you come swing with me?" the polite boy asked. His father hopped up immediately and went to play with his son. The proud mother watched her man and little man run, skip, hop and jump around the playground.

  "Are you okay?" she asked when she noticed her husband winded and sweating after a few minutes of play. She knew how much stamina the man possessed since she put it to the test almost nightly.

  "Huh? Yeah, I'm fine!" Martin said and stuck his chest out. He was the typical male and felt invincible. He had been nearly invincible for fifty years as a vampire, but he never felt more human than now.

  "Okay, baby," she relented. The family went home, ate a family dinner, and fed their child desert. After a bath and bedtime story, it was time for adult desert. Martin read classic Aesop fables to the boy whether he understood it or not. They bonded over the stories before he drifted off to sleep.

  "He's ummm," Martin announced as he entered the bedroom but his wife stole his train of thought. All she had on was a pair of riding boots and a smirk. "Going somewhere?"

  "Yes sir!" Kristine laughed and pushed him on the bed. She could get aggressive at times and this was one of those times.

  "Oh my," Martin joked when she roughly snatched his pants down

  It obviously turned him on because his dick stood at full attention like a good soldier should.

  "Oh my!" she repeated as she mounted him and worked him inside. Both mentally buckled up for the ride since she was in one of those moods.