Sky Swimmer

Dissolve Her, Part 18

Bollingsworth, Floe, Eric and Dan continue through the eerie cemetery. The ever watchful stalagmites and stalactites tower above them. Their footsteps and voices seem to multiply in the cavernous space as continuous echoes.

"Frayel has often alluded to me that there is a way to defeat the Lord of Soilers," says Bollingsworth.

"Is she really Lord Dre's sister?" asks Floe.

Bollingsworth has stopped in front of another grave marker depicting a woman with the name:

LORDESS FRAYEL DRE.

"She's dead?" groans Eric.

"Un-dead," answers Bollingsworth. Yes, she is Lord Dre's sister and she was dissolved and her soul imprisoned here because she had tried to help the Aireon King and Queen. She believed in the Balance of the Kingdoms."

Dan looks more perplexed than usual. "Maybe I'm missing something. You want to talk to a soul?"

"Souls are like energy, they can not be destroyed, only transformed."

A sudden breeze rushes toward the grave and evolves into a twister. The whirlwind loosely takes on the shape of a slight woman. It wavers, disperses and then with stronger effort rematerialized. Though the shifting figure looks weak, it's windy voice is confident enough ...

"You are all in danger."

"Frayel? I know your voice, we talked before in the junkyard!" Floe exclaims, her hopes rising.

"And so we had and have you gleaned your purpose of being? Only you can dissolve Hamada and save the Four Kingdoms.

Eric is mesmerized by the windy, wispy figure before them. He reaches out to touch it but his father slaps his hand away.

"Four Kingdoms?" asks Eric.

"But I'm not the princess. I'm nobody ..."

The sound of stone walls crumbling, cracking are heard ... Soiler voices barking at one another.

"Hurry Frayel!" urges Bollingsworth, "we are discovered! How can we defeat your brother?"

The wind figure shifts, agitated. "There is only one weakness ... it is his red hand... it is the remnants of a bad transmutation caused by the Red Curse and the only thing that keeps it from spreading to the rest of his body is the Guardian of the Red Curse. Destroy the Guardian and the Underlord Dré will be consumed by the mineral malady."

The opening in the wall is complete ... Soiler warriors pour into the cavern.

"Where is the Guardian?" asks Floe.

"Seek the Guardian in the Valley of the Winds."

"The High Wind Deserts," says Bollingsworth more to himself than to anyone else. "We must go! Now!"

Blasts of energy from the Soilers erupt around them ... Bollingsworth raises his hands and sends a shockwave forward ... knocks over the leading Soilers, sending them sprawling into the headstones.

Eric uses his lance and Focal Stone, fires at the attacking Soilers.

Dan is impressed, "Son! You got the touch!"

Bollingsworth fires again ... another enemy blast ... the Twister is hit ... Floe is knocked clear ... the last words she hears from Frayel before her wind body dissipates: "Look within ... "

Scores of Soilers emerging, engaging in the battle.

Bollingsworth shouts above the din of the blasts, "This way, we have to get to the other side!"

"Floe! Do something!" yells Eric, "Use the amulet!"

Floe shakes her head, she can't, she doesn't know how, the dogs of despair bark louder than the blasts, their bite more real than any of this delusional nightmare she had wandered into. No, I'm nobody, I can't control it ...

"No ... I'll kill all of us."

Soiler soldiers run full stride through the cemetery ... close now ... clear shots at Eric, Floe, Dan, Bollingsworth.

Suddenly gusts of wind sweep the graveyard and ghostlike twisters spiral from the graves themselves ... grabbing Soilers with gyrating wind ... throwing them hard to the ground.

"Hurry, this way! Come on!" shouts Bollingsworth, "It's the Un-Dead, they are giving us a chance!" The etheriel figures flow rapidly amongst the Soilers, flinging their weapons aside, knocking the warriors into each other ...

Floe and the others run for their lives, tripping on grave markers and doing their best to avoid the souls rising all around them.

As the Undead rush in their attempts to harass the Soilers they raise huge dust clouds, inhibiting visibility, further hampering the Soilers pursuit.

Bollingsworth leads the group to another gravesite engraved: HERE LIES GERALDINE GRIFFITH BOLLINGSWORTH.

Bollingsworth utters a few words, a gravestone slides open revealing a hidden staircase and tunnel beneath it.

Bollingsworth says, "I've been planning my getaway for some time now! Hurry!!"

Under cover of the thickening dust cloud the group disappears beneath the gravestone that rotates and slides back into position.

---

In the cavernous Transport Hangar, Under Lord Hamada, Transgressa and a full battalion of Soilers enter the largest Battle Boulder.

Transgressa receives a communique... the skin on her hand mutates, shifts and starts to display Soiler hieroglyphics, a text message without the phone, directly on her palm.

Transgressa addresses Underlord Hamada, "The girl eludes us."

Hamada is not happy, "Find her. Make sure she fulfills her destiny, then dissolve her and join me on the battlefront."