Arblis' gaze swept over the nude form in his arms, flickering eye lights shifting to a faint blue.

"I've been flying for about two hours.You must have had quite the hike from your ship before meeting me. How does your leg feel? More importantly, how does your mind feel? I was able to clear away two of the emotional ties holding you to the Undine, but I believe you still have at least a half dozen more that will need to be worked on. Those sessions won't need to be quite so intense. I was forced to shield your mind against the levels of pleasure you experienced, and we will need to check whether there was any lasting harm done. For now, your body and mind will need some time to recover and your leg could use a new bandage."

His body returned to hover just above the ground as they arrived at the ship, and Arblis gently lowered her to the ground. He handed her back the triblaster to use as a walking stick if needed, and carried what was left of her clothing himself. He examined the outside of the ship and was rather disappointed after the splendor he had seen displayed on the ambassador's ship below. Not that Myra's ship was junk, it was just practical. Few of the common bells and whistles he had seen in his recent travels were on display here, although the ones that were seemed to be of fine quality. The life of an impoverished priestess I suppose.

Arblis reached out a hand and planted a firm slap on his companion's bear rump. "I believe a tour is in order. Lead the way."

“It's a bit stiff,” the block on feeling the actual pain of the leg wound was still in effect and in was brought to her attention that she had to see to the wound in time. Two hours and she figured it did not follow the path she made. “Yes, it was quite the journey. I do not know if the lizards were worse then the spiders. I am leaning to the spiders, they were harder to see but easier to deal with through the effective use of the Tri-Blast.”

Her ship was nowhere the size of the ambassadors and she used her Tri-Blast to assist her along. “The tour will begin presently, make yourself at home.” She would leave him in a recreational area. There was some entertainment here, games and the like, even a flight simulator to practice when dealing with “unique” hazards such as asteroid fields and space mines.

There was an holographic game similar to chess with game pieces that resembled Vodrani and Undine pieces.

She cleaned up depositing her torn clothes to be repaired. After a shower there was a quick trip to the med bay where her wound was treated and bandaged again before she returned. It was all but gone when she returned and the enzymes she injected herself with would heal her throughout the night.

She was feeling a bit better and wore a yellow bikini, sandals and a simple wrap about her waist. Her skin covered in ointments smelled good and now she cave him a tour of Reef Diver the big features was that it could function both under and above water, had a submarine on it that could launch (even Vodrani suffered in arctic waters), a pool though the room was sealed off and Reika was inside who appeared to be a docile octopus-like creature from her home world. He like an octopus was great at escapes and had a degree of intelligence that was on pair with a dim witted human. He was a bit smarter than average for his species and the Vodran where “use” to them living peacefully with them, the species readily accepting a docile “Pet” role closer to companion but due to their limited intelligence not true equals.

Sensors and the like were good but could be better which was the case with most things.

“I never felt so relieved ...” she said out of the blue. “A lot of weight has left my mind, simplifying matters was the way to go. I never felt anything as intense as what we had ...”

Arblis floated in his solid for at her shoulder in case she needed additional support, but it appeared she could manage as she led him inside.

The interior of the ship was much the same as the outside, with sparse decorations and modest tastes, but everything seemed to be well maintained and neat. She led him into a lounge, after depositing his portal stone and the circlet, he spent a few idle minutes flipping through galactic news briefs and catching up on events he had missed while he was busy playing politics on Rakion V. It seemed his princess here had had a very poor evening. Both of her suitors had died in their duel, and a tabloid released a rather revealing article spilling the information he had sold as he left the planet. He hoped the new rulers sold her as a sex slave instead of beheading her. She had been a rather good lay if he did say so himself.

Myra returned with her leg freshly bandaged, and wearing a bikini that showed off all of her assets well. The wrap around her waist swished against the floor with the sway of her hips, and her scent was so inviting that Arblis had to control himself from taking her again right there.

Instead he allowed her to lead him through the ship, pausing to comment on the humor of a fish lady needing a sub.

When they reached the pools, Arblis glided forward and slipped through the air vents before reappearing at the edge of the water next to Reika. He spoke to the odd little creature as he had seen uncles talk to their young nephews.

"Hello Reika, my name is Arblis. Myra has invited me to stay on the ship for a little while and help her with a few things. Is that alright with you?"
Her pet extended a tentacle in what was unmistakably a handshake, and Arblis solidified a tendril of his own to wrap around Reika's. Then the odd little critter glided through the water, pirouetted, and sent a jet of liquid spraying into Arblis' face. He managed to turn to smoke in time to avoid being splashed, but his eye lights were momentarily put out. He flew back through the vent to Myra, and "blinked" until his eyes were glowing a healthy orange again. He proudly ignored Myra's completely failed attempts to hide her laughter as the tour continued.

They chatted amiably about little things, when she suddenly grew quiet, and Arblis could feel she was about to say something important.

He wasn't surprised by the young woman's reaction to his treatment of her, but he was glad that she didn't seem to realize she had been forced into abandoning her race.

"I have spent a very long time in this galaxy Myra. I have met some of the wisest men and women who have ever lived, and peered inside their minds. Do you know what I found? Quiet simplicity. Once a person has really examined their life to discover what brings them joy and what doesn't, the rest is very straight forward. Of course, you were aware that the Undine were toxic to your life, but deep down I think you knew how unsatisfying your quest has been so far. You just needed to let go long enough to see it."

He stopped floating forward and turned to look at her beautiful form. He made his roving eyes completely obvious, and he saw her cheeks redden ever so slightly under his gaze.

"I'm so glad you enjoyed yourself. I considered what do an art form, and your body and mind are both instruments of the finest craftsmanship. I'm looking forward to playing with you for the rest of our journey together. It promises to be extremely entertaining."
He leaned closer, and fully solidified to wrap long arms around her waist before planting a swift kiss in her pink hair. The ointments spread over her body were intoxicating, but Arblis knew that she wasn't ready for another session just yet. She already craved the pleasure he could give her, but he still wanted her to need his approval as well. A well trained pet should love her master.
"But not right now. Why don't we get you some food and you can tell me how you feel. The levels of pleasure you just felt can do strange things to a mind, and I want to be sure you are ok before we continue. It might be a good idea to go over plans for what to do once we are back in civilized space, now that you aren't going to fly off in search of trinkets anymore. "

She had imagined that Reika would be on the cranky side. Arblis was a stranger after all and he was imposing himself to take over his role. After all Reika could be classified as a sentient being. She tried not to laugh though as she continued her tour.

“The sub is for those waters that are to frigid for us and there is a safe depth that most creatures an dive to and in both cases the sub was good to have. There was even a diving suit inside the sub for such waters that even a Vodrani would not endure …

But she showed him about the ship which was meager in comparison to the ambassador's that ha been meant to impress. He or course had wanted his attention though her body could not hold up against such for any real length of time.

“It has been part of my identity for so long that I had never considered anything else.” Clearly she would have to give it some thought. “A quick means of making some quick cash to get established would be in order. Perhaps revisiting some of those old sites and recovering the artifacts that I left behind.

“Do you eat?” Of course he ate but given his form he may have subsisted on energy of some sort. She made her way to the lounge with him and got something from the replicator for herself (and possibly him).

Thinking over what the possibilities entailed she picked at her food. “I'm not entirely sure. I mean it I rather refreshing not to have to worry so much about the Undine but before I was an Artifact Hunter I was versed in teaching Theology to my people. My skill set isn't too strong save for some control of liquids though I have not reach the Mastery of that as some of the older Clergy.”

There was a degree of uncertainty now as a big aspect of her had been changed. Fortunately it was a long trip back in which to consider these matters some. “But not having to worry about the pressures of acquiring devices, the potential blackmail, the Undine, it is something quite refreshing yet scary at the same time given the plethora of options ahead that I never had to consider before.”

Arblis followed her lithe form back to the lounge and let his form relax into its natural smokey consistency. Manifesting a solid wasn't exactly difficult for him, but it was like standing versus laying down and he wanted to take to slow down and digest his meal from earlier. His essence naturally ate away at the emotions and memories he had absorbed from Myra and broke them down to a form he could incorporate into his being. He could still reconstruct them at any time he liked, but he couldn't draw on their strength unless they were fully his.

He politely declined the offer of food and choose to focus on planning his next step while his companion ate. Her thoughts had told him that she planned to return the ship, and he understood her reasons, but it would be extremely inconvenient to lose it. Arblis had no doubt that Myra would be begging to follow him by the time he was ready to go, if only to keep access to the pleasure he could give her, and he wasn't planning to leave himself stranded on some god forsaken planet with only one sex slave. No, he needed to either find a way to recharge the portal stone, or he need a ship. Looking around the rather cramped quarters, he corrected himself; he needed a bigger ship. This one barely had room for Myra and her pet, and she was tired out after a little over an hour. True, she had lasted longer than he had expected and been incredible during that time, but she would never be able to satisfy him on her own.

"You could always go freelance. Every watery planet has its share of shipwrecks and lost cargoes. I have come across a number of treasure hunters guilds in my travels and any of them would have jumped at a chance to snatch you up." He didn't bother to mention that the "treasure" they generally hunted was slaves from less advanced civilizations. They did occasionally go after real lost artifacts though, and Myra had already shown she was more than capable. Besides, he had enjoyed the times he had been part of the guilds. The guild houses tended to be cesspits of greed and desire, with willing (after they were trained) women everywhere, and plenty of opportunities for deals and swindling. "I still have contacts with a few if you would like an introduction.

"I'd say the bigger question is how you should handle your resignation. I'm sure it isn't every day that a high ranking priestess decides to run off with a highly valuable artifact. Even if you give back your ship, do you think they will send someone after you? Wouldn't you be better off trading the ship in at a forgotten space port and disappearing? From what I've seen, you have years of back pay left at home. Why not just count that against the cost of the ship and start completely fresh? If they ever track the ship down to some pirate or other, you will be assumed dead in a raid, and the sale of the ship would give you a decent seed to start new."

"How long do you have before someone starts looking for you?"

“Freelance, hm,” she rubbed her chin. Her future ship would have to be a submersible too. Mistah had some nice artifacts but that was the home of the primitive Craiglords that served the Undine so that would be an adventure.

“Recovering treasures from ship wrecks of the past and present could be done.” She was oblivious to the pirate/slaver angel. While she was not a xenophobe like most of her people there was still the fact that she did not have a great understanding of how the galaxy worked. She knew some of it though.

She had considered her resignation though. “Only the Clergy leaves the planet but even so there are a few other hunters they use that are usually confined to the planet. Vodrani that commit crimes can't range off the planet though back in the day when many of the artifacts were stolen the Artifact Hunters were formed. A role of the Artifact Hunters that had not have to be used in quite a time is hunting down would be thieves too … basically nobles that go after other errant nobles.

“They'll look for me though there are only a few others. Provided that the ship is turned over and they know that I'm not imprisoned somewhere by leaving them a message then they should not look for me as I have committed no crimes. If I take it and any artifacts I have collect that gives them a reason to search for me and I rather not deal with the Vodrani again. I just want to wash my hands of them.

“I'll delete the records of going to Rakion V so no one will be aware that the current artifact is missing. I am not the one in possession of it, you have it, and unless you've changed your mind the only artifacts I possess are the few that I acquired before going there.

“That said the Vodrani would be alarmed in a year our time so about half that by the Galactic standards. Longer if I check in since I don't go there all the time and usually wait until I have a few devices. I am royalty and those that would come are likely to be thorough . They are older and do not usually leave the planet know but their divine powers are better than mine.

“However, that gives me a few months to use the ship and make enough to get my own vessel before turning this one back over. I do not wish to have anything of theirs, whether back pay or not. I'll just keep my personal effects, and perhaps Reika if he wishes to accompany me. If they get everything back there is no reason for them to find me.”

"If you are decided I won't argue with you. 6 galactic months should be plenty of time to earn a down payment on a ship and the basic gear you will need. I'm sure my guild contacts would pay a good price for any artifacts you can collect in that time period, and starting off by proving you can turn out a decent haul would certainly be a mark in your favor.

I have to say, I am pleased that your people don't know about me or the circlet. That could have led to some annoying questions down the line. I wouldn't be surprised if they came after you as a rescue mission if they thought a spirit of lust had twisted your mind into letting it steal a holy artifact. I've dealt with self righteous holy warriors in the past, and they always have terrible manners as soon as they know who I am." Of course, their manners improved immensely once he had them trained properly. No one ever has the same need to serve like a former zealot who threw away his faith for the pleasure offered by a creature of the underworld.

"That reminds me, you haven't had a chance to get more than a glance at the trinket you spent so much time and effort on. Would you like me to introduce you to the spirit that powers it? After that, I think it is time for you to get some sleep. You have had a long day, and I can already feel your exhaustion. Tomorrow is plenty of time for talk and....other things"

Coran's pearl marble lifted off a table on a finger of smoke hovered just above Myra's head.

"I should warn you, she isn't especially pleased with either of us right now. As a spirit of love, she doesn't really approve much of my methods, and I think she was hoping that you would take her back to Vordan. I'm not entirely sure how the circlet interacts with your latent psionic potential, but I should be able to let you speak to her if you can't on your own."

He rested the silver circlet gently on her brow, and waited for the response.

“There is a listing of the artifact among others but I can alter fuel records and delete my recent voyage from the logs so no one should have reason to believe I even made the trip. The circlet was so remote that the Artifact Hunters before me noted it and I only made it because I have a pool in the ship. We Vodrani cannot tolerate dryness over long periods and only the Clergy has adapted to life above the waves. The formulation of legs and the ability to breath air are amongst the first traits that we are taught even before water Mastery. Our species wasn't always an aquatic one. Evidence points to that and we have lungs and gills though when I shift my tail into legs my gills vanish with the transformation. The fact that we have lungs is another matter and we are trained how to use them since we are the only ones that will leave the planet it is kind of necessary.”

She explains though doubts that he is too interested in the evolution of her people to really care. “I know where a number of artifacts are. Mistah probably has the best ones though I did have some complications there last time I'm pretty certain I can manage if it came to it.”

Myra considers the immediate future and how she can earn reasonable money to get started. She also considers the artifact in question. She wasn't going to be bringing it back to her home world. Still she was a bit curious and the artifact did cost her a wounded leg and plenty of time.

“Sure, let's see it.” She was a bit exhausted given the wound, spelunking and sex.

“Life is full of disappointments. I'm tired of being the lap dog of an ungrateful people given all the sacrifices I have had to make thus far getting this or that.” The circlet feels cool and she waits for something to happen.

There is a tingling sensation then darkness where she existed and nothing else save for what she surmises is the avatar of the living coral.

“You are the avatar of the circlet I presume.” Her mental self is uninjured and dressed in the same attire as she drifts forth slowly, blue eyes dashing over the figure. She can feel something buzzing through her mind, a mild tingling as the device connect to her in some way. Her avatar was wearing the circlet, a mental representation of her ideal self she surmised.

Coran stood before Myra, with her breasts and hips shrouded in thick mist and a disgusted expression on her face.

"And you, are the traitorous priestess who disgraced her people to become a whore. Vordan's beard, you are even worse than that egotistical ambassador I got saddled with last time. He might have used my powers for person gain, but at least he pretended to care about his people. You gave yourself to our greatest enemy after less sex than you would have gotten in the spawning. THEN when you actually have a chance to redeem yourself, break free from your servitude, and bring a piece of your goddess back to her rightful place, you throw it all away to abandon your people and bend over for a lust demon."

The thought spirit was clearly holding onto her temper by a thread. Coral may not be as prone to bouts of rage as Tempest, but clearly her thought shard is fully capable of feeling the Rage of the Sea. Coran took a deep breath and raised her nose haughtily to look at Myra.

"Did you come here for a reason, or did you just want to mock me with fake platitudes?"

“Do you realize how long it's been since I've partaken of the Spawning? Or that in getting one of Ulhan's pieces I was made, compelled to do things with the Undine or all people! The only one worse … the only being despicable beyond them is Veros.

“For too long I have slaved away collecting trinkets and the occasional worth while prize. For too long the Vodrani have used me to serve their ends. Well, they can do their own work now.”

She shook her head. “Because I choose not to be the lap dog of the Vodrani I have not betrayed them. Arblis got to you first and all of what the Vodran own shall be returned to them in time. Nor you or I shall be going back to Vodran, but unlike you I am mortal. There is a chance that you may find your way there in time. There will be other Artifact Hunters, though really how important have the Vodrani made in your recovery to date? You have been abandon as have I, I just did not see that their abandonment was so insidious where they lead me to believe I had a greater purpose in life.

“I had nothing. No gloating as it were just a laying out as it is. Perhaps in time I will acquire something worthwhile and be able to trade, you would be sent on to Vodran via whomever I could track down. I still have my sources and contacts after all though I do not plan on gracing your presence all too often.

“Keep in mind that you were off world because you where taken. It is only the fault of that Priest that you have face the current situation. Not Arblis and not mine.”

"Ha, as if that creature will ever let either of us leave. Do you know what he did in order to "free" you? He violated me! He forced his slimy, filthy, disgusting essence through me so that he could link his power directly into the deepest parts of your mind. His influence corrupted you far beyond clearing your addiction. Didn't you find it odd that you felt fulfilled with your work for years, and you only start feeling dissatisfied after you agree to let a pleasure demon mess around in your head? He is PLAYING you, and you are too rapped up in the afterglow of your sex drive to notice it."

Coran sighed and lowered her head. Suddenly, a chair appeared behind her and she slumped into it with an air of defeat around her.

"Its too late now. His hooks are already too deep for me to get out, and its not as if you could keep him out of your mind even if I did. You already need his touch just as much as you needed the Undine's and he has only taken you once. By the time your ship lands someplace you have a chance of escaping him, you will already be his faithful pet. I will have been corrupted enough by his essence flowing through me that I doubt I will see anything as wrong.

And do you know the worst part? We will both be perfectly happy. You will be exploring the galaxy, looking for new artifacts to enhance his power, capturing exotic new women for him to play with, and reveling in his touch whenever you can earn his attention. Who knows, he might even keep you as a personal servant instead of renting you out as a sex slave.

I will be fulfilling my purpose, sharing my user's emotions with other races in order to encourage closeness and bonding. You don't know what its like, being a collection of thoughts cut away from another being. I can think, feel, and speak for myself, but my values never change. Even when as I cried, watching Arblis rape your mind, I still felt the satisfaction of fulfilling my purpose and serving the owner of the circlet. I tried to fight it, to break the link, to destroy myself, but that would have gone against my design. A few months from now, I will be happily joining women to him and forcing his lust into their skulls.

You had better go. I don't care whether you believe me or not; it won't make a difference. I'm sure Arblis will just erase the memory of this conversation if you do."

The mist clad woman and her chair faded away, and Myra was brought back to her body.

“Then it is hopeless,” she did not like what she was hearing. Though it felt liberating being free of the Vodrani, and many of the beliefs were minor points and insecurities in her own mind now amplified to such a state she had little in the way of mental powers. It was theorized that their breathing and control over the water was a latent Psionic talent and the ability to shift a shape shifting one that the Clergy had mastered.

But if it were true that her mind was being altered there was no hope given how remote they were unless they chanced upon another craft or … no that would do little good but it was a thought that was worth considering though it still condemned them.

If she marooned them on a planet … crashed into it, then they'd be stuck and no harm could be done to the galaxy at large.

“Trading one captor for another ...” If what she said was true … enslaving others had certainly not been in her plans and struck her as a doushy thing to do.

Rather than crash the ship she could jettison the engines, even destroy them so that they had to rely on impulse. If they got to a world there was always the sub. In space there was the escape pod. She had to think, to consider though he was probably already aware that there would be this sort of disclosure unless he wanted to bask in his victory and gloat or was just planning to wipe her memory of this in which case matters would continue as if nothing was amiss.

She was sent back, blinking her eyes, wondering just how potent his mental abilities were.

“That, that was different ...” she removed the circlet hand it back over as she got use to being back her in the physical realm.

Arblis was floating in front of her with a knowing expression on his smokey features.

"I'm sure it was. I must say, I truly underestimated the little spirit. Her talents for empathy are quite impressive, but I had no idea she could use them so manipulatively. She filled you with a righteous rage, then instilled just enough doubt to make you question whether what you were doing was right. The moment you were at your weakest, she tossed in a plausible story of my motivations and let her own despair wash through you. I was most impressed with the victim act at the end though. She just told you not to trust your own thoughts after a mental spirit was playing with them, but who would ever doubt a poor lost woman who has given in to the inevitable?"

Arblis reached into Myra's mind, and checked how well Coran's sabotage had worked. Oh yes, the little thought spirit was very good. Unfortunately for her, she was also correct. The entire exercise had been a way for Arblis to test what Coran was capable of on her own, without another mind directing her powers. He had monitored the priestess' mind during the conversation and was fully aware of what it entailed and how little it had actually been altered psionically. The words were a much greater factor in her fight for control of Myra's mind.

"I could wipe your mind of the seeds of doubt she has just sown, but I have a bit more faith in you than that. I would prefer to tell you the truth, and let you decide whether to believe the powerless spirit in desperate need of a pawn, or the being who could have taken everything you own with a though and instead bargained with you in good faith and is breaking you free from a living nightmare.

I admit freely that I manipulated your mind, and I told you I would from the start. I offered to remove the compulsions binding you to the Undine, and I have made a good start at it. I specifically mentioned the possibility that I could only change the target of the compulsion, and you still agreed. If we had a Vordani male lying around I probably could have pushed your need towards your own kind, but as I was the only one around I had to choose between leaving you with a mind breaking need that you couldn't fulfill or directing it towards myself.

And lets not forget that the Undine had another hold on you beyond your sexual needs. You were terrified of what would happen if they released the blackmail videos to your people. I didn't sign up to destroy that recording for you, and as long as you worried about what your people thought of you, it would still be an ax ready to fall. The only way I could find to free you was to remove the need for your people's approval. That was probably the easiest part of the entire exercise. This was the last artifact you knew about, and your mind was already looking towards the future with a feeling of dread. You had no plan for how to return to your people without them learning of your dark secret, and no prospects for making a life in the galaxy without a mission. I doubt you would have lasted a year before you were a loyal pet to the Undine and their snake mistress, and a part of your mind knew it. I just removed some of the barriers of denial keeping you from seeing what was right in front of your eyes."

Arblis turned his back to the pink haired woman, and appeared to be choosing his words carefully before he continued.

"I have no proof that I won't enslave you as Coran claims. We both know that I could with minimal effort. Even with no effort, by the time I have finished clearing the Undine influence from your mind, you may well be addicted to my touch. I suppose the real question is whether you want to become my follower or to travel this galaxy alone, in constant desire for the pleasure you lost. I am the only one who can undo the changes to your mind, and I refuse to return you the despair you felt with the blackmail hanging over you. For better or worse, your time among the Vordani is finished. I can transfer the compulsion to another species if we find a specimen while I am still with you, but I highly doubt you will find someone who can satisfy you like I can. I even have connections to help you along in your new life."

He turned back towards her and looked into her eyes. He saw the suspicion there, questioning whether he was manipulating her mind at this very moment.

"The fact is, I don't need sex slaves. The lifestyle that I offer for following me is so superior to what most women would have had alone that they flock to me willingly. I am sorry to say that I have broken women in the past. Sometimes it has been malicious; I can be just as vengeful as anyone else, and I have the weapons to dispense my justice; but far more often it was through a tragic accident. The sentient mind is the most complex thing in the universe, and even with all my experience and power I can still make mistakes. I promise that I will never order you to bring women to me to be broken, only to offer them a bargain, the same as I did with you.

Don't choose misery and pain over a fulfilling life of work and pleasure because you fear what I could do to you. Judge me by whether my actions have helped or harmed you so far, and I think you will see that your life is much better with me in it.

Sleep on it and we can discuss tomorrow."

Without another word, Arblis turned invisible and drifted away to meditate for the night.

So he could read her mind as easily as she was able to read a book. Whether it required conscious effort on his part or not was another matter. She had to make an effort to read a novel but if she saw words that she could read there had been an immediate and sudden understanding of them and it took no effort in her part. In fact even slight errors were corrected by her mind automatically.

Perhaps it took more of a conscious effort on his part to read anything deeper than the surface though what was there may have hinted at what remained beneath and driven him to have a peek. Myra was uncertain as to how it all worked.

She was uncertain now. Of course Arblis could have cleared her mind of matters … unless he couldn't, unless he could only alter what was already there into something else but that was little different so she suspected that he could. The artifact, the part that was “alive” had been governed by it's own motivations.

“I don't know who to believe,” she sighed, the price for freedom from the Undine cost her her people though it had been to them that her rage had been directed to. There was no desire now to return and it was clearly his influence, the lack of worry about both the Undine and Vodrani.

True, her leads had dried up but still … she would have had eventually found new leads, right? She questioned that. The dreaded return to her planet since Vespira, since the Undine … she had yet to “earn” back that necklace too.

Either in was being placed at the hands of one or the other …. the ironic thing was if she had acquired that necklace it could have shielded her from Psionic influences so she would know what thoughts were her own.

“That hardly seems fair, trading one addiction for another,” at least it was not to the Undine but right now she was alone too isolated from her people The longing for the Undine simply replaced though the two species were extremely violent to one another and there were only two she safely knew where to find. Each had been near the end of their life cycles too, within the last ten years at best and she would far out live that so what then of this need? Unless she could shift it to something more docile and plentiful in the galaxy … she had to think on that.

The admission of fault, of wrong doing in the past worked better than a lie for she had doubted she could have swallowed a lie like that. This had lead her to evaluate what was occurring to her more than those on a whole. Still uncertain of course it was mere moments ago that she had that little “chat” in her own head.

A follower? She had to digest that. For all her life she had been a follower of the Vodrani pantheon, of her people though with the later there was nothing to show for it. The influence of his manipulations or the cold hard honest truth? She would have to further think on it.

After some meditation at the shrine she had on the ship she retired for the evening. And though she would have thought that her dreams would be heavily influence their were no that she could remember any way as she woke in the morning preparing to begin the day with a dip before going too long without contact with the refreshing water. Besides, she wished to see Reika ...

Arblis spends the night in contemplation of his next move. How much should he manipulate Myra's mind, and how much will he have to rely on simple seduction? Coran's presence on the ship is a complication. His mental touch is nearly undetectable if his subject is unaware of it, but the thought spirit would almost certainly detect his meddling. Unless he forbid the priestess access to the circlet, she would learn of anything he did to her mind and undermine her training.

And he did want her trained. The circlet was definitely a worthwhile prize for this trip, but until he could reestablish himself on a new planet he was vulnerable. A pirate attack or mechanical malfunction could leave him with no choice but to use the last energy stored in his portal stone, and there might not be enough power left to bring Coran through as well. He needed Myra's piloting skill and experience on top of her loyalty, and breaking her mind would greatly hamper those attributes. Besides, he had not lied when he said he preferred his followers to come to him by choice. The flavor of a lust crazed thrall's emotions are incredibly bland, without background emotions to add spice. They are like watery oatmeal, sustaining and plentiful, but not fulfilling. Myra's internal conflict and natural sex drive are a sumptuous feast by comparison.

Maybe he should focus less on the short term goals, and more on the future. Myra would be his eventually as long as he prevented her from doing anything rash, but Coran would be a much greater challenge. Had she been telling the truth when she told the priestess she was being corrupted? It was certainly plausible, but was she just trying to trick him into believing she would turn to him eventually? He couldn't be that complacent. Maybe next time he could draw Myra and Coran into his own mind and see how the goddess liked being on the receiving end of his love.

Arblis awoke from his meditation when he heard one of the ship's doors open. Myra was dressed in a tight green bikini, and had a towel wrapped around her waist as she headed to the ship's pool. Arblis followed invisibly, enjoying the sight of her lithe form shifting as she walked.