Son of Baalak: Book Two of the Baalak Trilogy
Published on February 15, 2023 at Amazon, this e-book is the second in the “Baalak” trilogy and is set twenty years after “The Cursed Phallus of Baalak-Ra.”
Twenty years earlier, archaeologists Terry and Eileen Fletcher were tasked with investigating an ancient phallic object discovered in a remote part of the Egyptian desert. Their work with the strange object nearly destroyed their lives and their marriage. Still, they prevailed, thanks to an immortal being with intimate knowledge of the object and Baalak, the man who created it thousands of years earlier as a tool to further his conquest of humanity.
But their son, Ron, a student at UCLA, has become the latest victim of the object.
Neither Terry nor Eileen realized that a substance from the ancient object had been slowly changing Ron his entire life. The changes became more apparent after he collapsed into a coma for no discernible reason.
Now Terry and Eileen face the possibility that Ron may become even more evil and destructive than Baalak. Enlisting the help of Adrestia Rhamnousia, the immortal being who helped them twenty years earlier, Terry and Eileen fight to save their son from certain destruction.
Will they succeed? Find out in “Son of Baalak: Book Two of the Baalak Trilogy.”
From Day One:
The petite blonde sat at her desk in the large Gothic mansion far from Los Angeles, looking at her monitor as she sipped her tea. A casual observer might think she was a college student studying for an exam or an office worker performing tasks from her home office. But that was not the case.
The truth was that she had walked the earth for millennia – long before Noah’s progeny set out to repopulate the planet after a devastating flood. She had been known by many names over the years – Tyr and Nemesis being just two of the names given her by various civilizations. The Greeks, for example, knew her as the goddess of retributive justice, so she adopted the name Adrestia Rhamnousia for her interactions with the mortal humans she encountered.
Many of those who crossed her path learned the hard way there was no escape from her justice. Twenty years earlier, she helped Terry and Eileen deal with a being she thought had been disposed of long ago – a man she once considered her beloved brother, Baalak.
After the incident with Baalak’s phallus, Adrestia kept a loose tab on the Fletchers, hoping there would be no residual aftereffects of Eileen’s use of the ancient artifact the two of them had been investigating. Unknown to Terry, she had heard his mental anguish loudly and clearly and accessed everything she had on the Fletcher family.
Adrestia quickly pored over the records she had on the Fletchers. Terry and his wife Eileen were still as happy and as much in love with each other as they were that day just over twenty years ago. Their son, Ron, had been attending UCLA on a full scholarship and was doing well. Almost too well, Adrestia thought suspiciously.
She reviewed Ron’s medical history and his chart from the hospital. From what she could tell, Ron had escaped many of the childhood diseases that plagued humanity these days. Being responsible parents, Terry and Eileen had kept his vaccinations up to date.
Looking over Ron’s medical history, Adrestia was only mildly surprised to learn the young man had not only evaded disease – even the common cold – but also somehow managed to get through childhood without a sprained ankle. For the number of sports he played, that alone was an anomaly.
But now, Ron was in the hospital, having just collapsed for no apparent reason. Troubled, Adrestia looked at Ron’s chart, which had been saved electronically. By all current medical standards, there was absolutely nothing to explain what happened to Ron.
Dr. Peter Kirkland, a competent medical doctor, had ordered a battery of tests, including an MRI, to determine what happened to Ron. But Adrestia already had an idea of what was wrong with him, which greatly concerned her. She first needed to update her credentials for the hospital, and then she needed to speak with Terry and Eileen.
“And how is my lovely goddess this evening?” Adrestia’s husband, Max, asked as he walked into her office. She smiled as he gave her his usual welcome-home kiss.
“Busy, as always. And how are you?”
“Finished up the Clark case today. Thankfully. What a shame,” Max sighed as he poured some hot tea. He looked at his wife’s monitor as he took a sip. “He looks familiar,” Max said as he looked at Terry Fletcher’s face on Adrestia’s monitor. “What’s his story?”
“That’s Dr. Terry Fletcher, the current Director of the Gadsden Pacific Archaeological Institute.”
“Fletcher. That name sounds familiar.”
“It should. I worked with him and his wife twenty years ago,” Adrestia said. “An unusual intervention.”
“Yes, I remember now. He’s the one with the ancient dildo. I remember you wrote me a letter about that. Something to do with your older brother from way back,” Max said.
“That’s right. One and the same. His son is in the hospital.”
“Oh? What happened?”
“That’s what I’d like to know. He just collapsed, fell into a coma. No one knows why.”
“So, why are you involved?”
Adrestia looked at her husband before answering.
“The boy’s father asked for my help,” she said. “And given what he and his wife went through, I’ve decided to help them.”
“Okay. Do you think your brother had anything to do with this?” Max asked.
“Not directly,” Adrestia replied. “Especially where he’s been the last twenty years.”
“But you have an idea what might have happened?”
“I think so. It’s a long shot, though.”
“Is there anything I can do?” Max asked.
“Just be your normal loving self,” she told him with a smile that warmed his heart. Max smiled back as he kissed his wife.
“I think I can manage that. Just yell if you need anything,” he said.
“I will, sweetheart. I’ll have to go to Los Angeles for a bit. Will you be able to take care of yourself for a few days?”
“Yeah, I’ll be fine. Do what you need to do. I love you, my goddess.”
“I love you too,” Adrestia replied with a smile. Adrestia turned her attention back to her monitor after Max left the office.
…