Supreme Leader of Anstractor: A Sci-Fantasy Space Adventure (The New Phase Book 3) by Greg Dragon Read Free Book Online Page B

unmatched sword master before Rafian, and now that he lived, the chances of another superior warrior finding him to kill him was a dream. He sneered at his savior but then he could hear her voice coming through some sort of speaker on the tank.
    “Great one, you are still with us,” she said. “Do not try to speak, your mouth has been damaged.”
    Maes nodded his head and tried to get a better look at her. What would she expect me to do with no body and a missing jaw? Give council about the Phasers? he thought. He saw her move away from the glass to touch a panel. She began to move her hands around rapidly on the screen.
    “Great one, I am going to ask you to perform the schlain ritual. I am sorry, it is the only way,” she said, looking back at him with what he read as regret in her eyes.
    The schlain ritual, she said, the forbidden act of giving over one’s mind to that of another vessel. It was a skill learned and mastered by only the top priests of the temple, high level royalty, wealthy politicians, and, of course, spies, of which he was the greatest. She was asking him to become an abomination.
    “There are no bodies here that will take your powerful mind, lord, but … but there is a human in stasis here. I know that it is a disgusting thought but he is in recovery, vacant, and would easily be taken if you would have another chance at revenge.”
    The woman stopped her gesturing and walked over to the glass. She looked him in the eye and kept the stare even though Maes knew it would have been difficult given the amount of respect she had for him. He considered his choices. He could stay in the tank and slowly heal until one of the Phasers found him and finished the job of killing him, or he could do as she said and become one of them. It would be the ultimate disguise for a spy, a true takeover without the fear of the skin rotting, the accent changing, or suspicion.
    The Geralos that he was made him shudder at the thought of it. On Helysian he had spent a lifetime with the humans, working with them, listening to them, and making love to them. The last bit of that thought made him want to retch. Did he have it in him to go through with that again? Would it be pleasant now that he would genetically become human, or would it still give him nightmares?
    The warrior inside of him grinned at the opportunity. If the body was as young and strong as the other Phasers he would be more than a match for Rafian VCA. He could get the Supreme Leader alone, call him out, and duel him properly instead of the defeat he’d suffered while lying half-dead next to a burned-out ship.
    His eyes rolled back in his head and he found himself on that familiar mental plane that would lead to the psychic connection needed for the takeover.
    Inside of the psychic plane that Maes took to complete the ritual, the ground was a muted grey that dusted up wherever his feet—now whole in this alternate reality—would step. The horizon was shapeless, a line of black shadow that merged into a pink sky littered with loose, whimsical black clouds and flying creatures. The only other forms on this plane were shadowy things off in the distance. He knew that these were the Phasers, strong of mind and ready for one such as him to try and invade their mind.
    Next to him, not fifteen paces away, was a man seated on the ground with his chin on his knees rocking back and forth. He looked like a child awaiting punishment after some sort of discovery had been made by his parents. This had to be his host, and Maes strolled over to him and reached for his head.
    When his hand passed through the figure it felt wonderful, and Maes let his hand linger there for a time, loving the feeling of life that sent electricity throughout his entire body. He walked forward and sat within the shadow, taking on the same pose and letting the electricity consume him to the point where it felt as if every part of his body was in ecstasy.
    The merging completed and everything went