Balak: A Cthulhu Mythos Tale

From dreams filled with strange, beautiful images and haunting music, Claire Challis woke to the repulsive sound of a nasal, falsetto voice scratching its way through her closed bedroom window; the kind of voice adults reserve for speaking to pets or very small children. A particularly annoying case of the latter, she decided, for the voice was crooning, "My, don't we look fine in our Sunday best! Are you going to church, young man?"From her second floor apartment, she could hear only an indistinct, mumbled response, but she thought it came from little Paul Hernandez, who lived next door. A momentary silence ensued, and then she heard, "Are you going with your parents?"Claire couldn't help but shudder at the dry, coarse quality of the voice. The speaker sounded like an elderly man, but the intentional distortion of his speech impressed her as vaguely sinister. Little Paul must have answered in the affirmative, for the speaker continued, "You look so cute. How would you like to go with me to myyy church?"From the author, Mark Rainey:"BALAK, like much of my fiction, is a part of a multi-layered, interconnected universe that draws heavily from the Cthulhu Mythos of H. P. Lovecraft, while using the most modern of settings and characters. Many of the settings for BALAK are very real places in Chicago, which I attempted to capture and cast in a somewhat different light than they--at least probably--appear in real life."

From the Inside Flap

Two years ago, Claire Challis's four-year-old son disappeared without a trace. Now a neighbor's child has vanished from right outside of her apartment. A strange priest...an ancient church that seems to be the site of unspeakable rituals...a shadowy figure that seems to appear and disappear at will... Suddenly Claire finds herself at the center of a web of intrigue...and in fear for her life. Still, she is determined to learn the truth behind the abductions, and learn once and for all the fate of her missing son. What Claire cannot realize is that her quest may lead her not to the truth she seeks, but to a place of madness, horror, and condemnation beyond her wildest imaginings.

About the Author

Stephen Mark Rainey is author of the novels BALAK, THE LEBO COVEN, DARK SHADOWS: DREAMS OF THE DARK (with Elizabeth Massie), BLUE DEVIL ISLAND, and THE NIGHTMARE FRONTIER; the short story collections FUGUE DEVIL & OTHER WEIRD HORRORS, THE LAST TRUMPET, LEGENDS OF THE NIGHT, OTHER GODS, and THE GAKI & OTHER HUNGRY SPIRITS; the scripts for three DARK SHADOWS audio dramas (THE PATH OF FATE, CURSE OF THE PHARAOH, and BLOOD DANCE); and over 90 published works of short fiction. For ten years, he edited the award-winning DEATHREALM magazine, and has edited three anthologies (SONG OF CTHULHU, DEATHREALMS, and EVERMORE). Mark lives in Greensboro, NC.

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