15. The Ignivo
Chapter 15
The Ignivo
Isabella
“ M y queen.” Bellator roused Isa with a gentle nudge.
“I’m sorry!” Isa bolted upright. She couldn’t believe she dozed off, not with all that was at stake. Panic coursed through her as she spun toward the missile. Her hand froze in midair when she saw the display. “We have thirty minutes left still,” she sighed in relief. Isa looked over her shoulder at Bellator. “Sorry. I’m awake now.” She grimaced, feeling horrible for nodding off, even if she hadn’t overslept.
Resetting the timer every hour didn’t sound that bad, but it was proving more difficult than she imagined. They’d found the missile a little after noon yesterday, and it was some time after noon again. Her fear for the Vorto and anger at her people had kept her awake for most of that time. But with all the intense emotions, she’d burned herself out physically, and it was starting to show. Add the monotony of watching the countdown and listening to it beep was hypnotizing, lulling her to sleep.
“My beautiful queen, you have done so well.” Bellator brushed the hair out of her face.
As she stared into his understanding eyes, she couldn’t believe how blessed she was. Her own people would’ve blamed and imprisoned her already if the roles were reversed. Bellator, Artifex, and Phara hadn’t even changed how they looked at her. Her love doubled for her hive, and her eyes misted. Yet again the tenderness was swiftly followed by anger at her people for what they’d done to the Vorto. It was like a demented emotional merry-go-round.
Bellator gently nudged her face to the left. “We are here.”
Her mounting anger instantly fled as she took in the smoking mountain up ahead.
“The ignivo is a volcano.” Her eyes widened when she caught a flash of fire and spewing cinders.
“It is a fiery pit.” Bellator nodded.
When all the plans were being made, she failed to ask what the ignivo was, mainly because they had no other options. A part of her thought they might be traveling to an old Vorto facility from an era when their technology was more advanced, like the healing machine they used on her.
This works, too. Hope bloomed in her chest. The magma would easily destroy the chemicals in the missile. She’d even heard that nuclear based weapons were no match for a volcano.
“Brace yourselves. We will be landing soon.” Phara’s voice came from one of the screo flying nearby.
Phara was one of the two dozen Vorto taking turns carrying the ropes that lifted the wagon-sized produce basket. Although, he and the alphas were also doing double duty taking turns inside the basket keeping her from dozing off.
“Thank you,” Bellator replied. “We’re heading up there.” He pointed at a ledge near the summit.
“Good.” Isa couldn’t wait to get there and be done with this nightmare.
They headed up the mountainside, skimming over the treetops until the vegetation stopped altogether, replaced by dark, undulating rock formations.
“Is that rock from the last eruption?” She turned to Bellator, nestled behind her in the basket.
“Probably. Don’t fear. We’ve not had any massive eruptions in my lifetime. The ignivo tends to bubble and ooze rather than explode,” he explained.
“Ah.” She nodded, again looking at the countdown on the missile before turning back to watch their progress.
Up, up, up, they went. After another few minutes of the steady ascent, her ears popped. She opened her mouth and rubbed her ears to equalize the pressure. Still, they continued upward.
A wispy cloud drifted in front of the basket, obscuring her view of their destination.
“Ew.” Isa wrinkled her nose at the rotten egg smell. It was smoke from the volcano not an actual cloud, though they were certainly high enough it could’ve been one.
“Here. Breathe through this.” Bellator handed her a swath of fabric.
“Thank you.” She covered her mouth and nose. “What about you?”
“I will be fine.” Bellator squeezed her knee.
She frowned behind the makeshift mask, not liking his answer.
“Brace!” several people declared.
Bellator extended his leg between her and the missile, in case the weapon shifted despite being strapped down. The smoke cleared, abruptly revealing they were right in front of the rock wall. Isa flinched, thinking they were about to bang into the side of the volcano. Then there was a jostling bump as the basket touched down on the hundred-foot-wide plateau.
The instant they settled, there was a flurry of motion as the Vorto in their party landed then shifted into humanoid form. Bellator scooped her up and immediately hopped out of the basket. They were as eager as she was to be done with this terrible business.
“Carefully, let’s get this weapon out of the produce carrier and tie the ropes on,” Artifex instructed, pointing to the extra ropes they’d brought along.
It took six Vorto just to unload the missile and get the ropes attached.
“What’s happening again?” Isa asked while Artifex and Bellator double checked the knots.
“Similar to how we carried it here, we fly the weapon over the mouth of the ignivo and let go on Bellator’s call. The moment the weapon is released the carriers will get out of there,” Phara explained, also reminding the others.
Her eyes widened as she gaped at the summit still several hundred feet up. Where they were standing was steamy and uncomfortable, so she could only imagine how hot it was up there with the volatile gasses and spitting magma. The ropes they were using to carry the missile were long, but whoever was flying the weapon up would still be directly in harm’s way.
“Okay,” Isa hesitantly said with a grimace. She didn’t like this, except it was the only viable plan to get the missile into the volcano. It’s not like carrying it up the steep side of the mountain and pushing it over the molten hot rim was a better option. “I—um—I should reset the missile before you lift off.” Isa shoved aside her reticence and made herself useful. She knelt beside the weapon and went through the whole routine. “One last time,” she murmured as she hit the buttons, ready to bring this horrific ordeal to an end.
“Good.” Phara nodded once she was done. He cast a grim look at Rego. “Get our queen out of here.”
“May Inana be with you.” Rego bowed low to Phara then picked her up.
Bellator, Artifex, Phara, Galis, Militus and Diligen grabbed the ropes attached to the missile. Isa’s heart sped up and panic set in when she realized they were the ones who’d be carrying the missile. Somehow she’d missed that detail.
“Wait!” Isa reached out for them.
Even though she was mated to the whole hive, she’d grown attached to certain members, especially her three alphas. Isa was about to ask why they had to put themselves in danger, but she immediately knew the answer. Phara, Bellator and Artifex were true alphas, true leaders. Back home, the supposed leaders were the ones who barked the loudest, bullied the best, and walked over the people they were supposed to care for and lead. Her alphas were literally about to go through fire and brimstone to protect their hive.
The men paused and turned to look at her. Despite understanding what needed to be done, she desperately wanted to tell them not to go. Instead, she swallowed the lump in her throat.
“You can’t go without giving me a hug first,” she said while trying not to lose her composure.
“Definitely.” Phara nodded emphatically, whole heartedly agreeing with her request.
She found herself quickly surrounded. “I can’t believe you were going to go without giving me hugs.” Her chin quivered.
“We’re fools.” Artifex kissed the top of her head as he caressed her cheek.
She pressed her face against his chest and stroked his arms.
“I didn’t want to lose my courage.” Galis pulled her into a hug.
Bellator nodded in agreement as she turned to him. He lifted her up and squeezed her tight. “This is not farewell, my queen.” He panned his brethren who had joined the group hug, so they understood he was speaking to them, too.
“You’re right.” Isa nodded resolutely, smiled, and kissed his cheek.
Bellator passed her to Phara, who cradled her in his arms as he walked to the large produce basket.
“We will see you very soon.” Phara’s lips descended on hers. His kiss wasn’t aggressive or desperate, just gentle and sweet, and she felt it to the depths of her soul. Isa clasped his shoulders as she kissed him back. “Oh, Isa.” Phara reluctantly pulled away and set her into the basket.
“I love you.” She squeezed his hand then peered around him at the others. “I love all of you. Be safe.” She forced a smile and willed her eyes to stay dry.
“I love you, my queen.” Phara smiled and stepped back.
“I love you, beautiful one.” Artifex bowed.
“I love you, too.” Bellator bowed.
The rest of her hive chimed in trading the sentiment. She felt truly loved. There was no comparison.
Phara nodded to Rego, who joined her in the basket. She sat with Rego and clasped his arms as he hugged her close. Bellator, Artifex, Phara, Galis, Militus and Diligen shifted into their screo form and gripped the ropes attached to the missile. Gregis, Invicta, Operar, and Proel also changed form, then lifted the basket off the ledge.
“They will be all right.” Rego rested his forehead against her head. His somber tone and the way he trembled ever so slightly betrayed his worry.
“They will.” She rubbed his arms.
Her gaze was riveted to her men as they tugged the missile into the air and started the steady ascent to the summit. With the basket carrying her farther and farther away, she couldn’t see every nuance as they traveled. Were they managing the missile okay? The damn weapon wasn’t light. Was the smoke choking anyone? Were the spitting cinders getting close enough to singe their feathers? Anxiously Isa held her breath, trying to gauge how things were going.
Isa pulled in a deep breath when her hive made it past the top of the volcano without incident, then held it, knowing the worst was yet to come. They wisely rose higher than the mouth of the caldera, before changing directions and heading out over the fiery pit. Their progress was slower, much slower. She covered her mouth when it looked like a few of them were having trouble staying aloft and keeping their ropes taut. Someone dipped just as a plume of smoke obscured her view.
“Oh!” Her stomach leapt into her throat.
The smoke drifted and she sighed in relief seeing he was still aloft, steadily flapping. He wasn’t the only one struggling, the farther they went over the caldera. She couldn’t watch, and yet she couldn’t look away, either.
There was a subtle screech of a hawk. She wasn’t sure if it was Bellator giving the signal or another raptor in the area until the missile started falling. Her men began exiting the area, flapping their wings as fast as they could.
“Now get out of there,” Rego murmured as the missile disappeared into the crater.
Isa nodded in agreement.
Abruptly there was a burst of smoke that shot hundreds of feet into the air, burning ash and magma accompanying it.
“Oh god!” she cried. The missile must have had an explosive charge meant to disperse the chemical toxin.
“Flux!” Rego cursed.
The screo carrying the produce basket faltered, the whole thing dipping, as they cried out in shock, though they swiftly recovered.
“Please, please, please,” she prayed, clutching Rego tight as she stared into the smoke billowing over the volcano.
One screo emerged from the toxic cloud after an agonizingly long moment, followed by a second, and then a third flying toward them.
Is that all who made it? It was only half of the brave Vorto who had undertaken the task. She was still missing three of her guys. Isa started to hyperventilate.
Hope flared when two more screo flew around the column of smoke.
“Brace for more passengers!” Rego shouted as the first of her men neared.
On Rego’s command the members of their party who were flying nearby swooped in and grabbed the spare ropes attached to the carrier, preparing for the extra weight.
Isa’s attention was divided between watching the men coming in, and looking for the one still absent, lost somewhere amidst the smoke. She didn’t recognize her men in their animal forms yet, so she wasn’t certain who the first screo was as they touched down in the basket.
“My queen.” Artifex blinked his bird-eyes at her.
“Oh, Artifex,” she declared and crawled over to him. Her vision blurred when she saw how singed his feathers were and the way he’d gone from purple to gray from all the ash. “Are you injured?” She reached out to touch him, but her hand froze midair, not wanting to hurt him.
“I’ll be all right.” Artifex nuzzled her hand before shifting. Even in his humanoid form, he had dark discolored patches where he’d been burned. Thankfully they didn’t look too extensive.
“We did it!” Diligen landed next, drawing her attention. Relief and exhaustion were evident in his voice.
“Yes, you did!” She smiled at him, although the way he coughed had her worried.
“Success.” Phara followed, instantly shifting into his humanoid form when he landed. “I’m almost certain the Blight weapon sank into the lava before the eruption happened.” He pulled her into his arms.
“I hope that’s the end of it,” Isa prayed as she kissed his chest and gently hugged him, careful for his burns.
“I do, too.” Artifex caressed her back.
“Galis went down.” Militus landed.
“I lost him in the smoke,” Bellator violently coughed as he touched down in the basket, completely covered in ash.
“Oh, no!” Isa’s panicked gaze swung toward the volcano.
“Galis!” Rego bellowed.
His agony was echoed by a cry overhead from Gregis, followed by more cries from the other Vorto flying above.
“Galis?!” Phara gasped, just learning the news himself, and he spun to look at the volcano.
Except, no amount of watching made Galis appear.
“I’m so sorry,” Isa sobbed as she hugged Phara and Rego. Without her people’s evil scheming, none of this would’ve happened.
“I’m sorry, I tried to go after him, but the smoke was too much,” Bellator lamented as he joined in the hug.
“You did your best.” She latched onto the big teddy bear.
Tears streamed down her cheeks. They’d lost their goofy Galis.
Rego fluxed, changing into a screo , and shot out of the basket, streaking toward the volcano. Her heart shattered, her tears flowing faster at his refusal to accept Galis was gone. She squeezed Phara’s hand, hating how forlornly he stared as Rego disappeared into the smoke billowing out of the volcano. She could tell he would go help if he was in any shape to.
Isa’s eyes widened when two hawks emerged from the hazy cloud hanging over the mountain.
“He found him!” Phara whooped in joy.
Everyone in the basket crowded around the edge, staring out at the miraculous sight. Their excited shouts were echoed by two-dozen bird cries.
“Oh, Galis!” Isa cried tears of relief, her hands anxiously fluttering as she tracked their progress back.
When they neared, she noticed the hawk in the rear had a hold on the other’s tail feathers, while they flew in tandem.
“The smoke blinded him. He got turned around,” Rego explained. “Clear a path.” He aimed for the carrier.
Bellator pulled her into his arms and tugged her to one side.
“I’ve got you.” Phara grabbed Galis the moment the pair cleared the edge of the giant basket.
Galis’ singed and soot-covered wings instantly wrapped around Phara, then turned into arms that hugged the alpha tight.
“I thought I lost you.” Phara’s voice was tremulous and filled with emotion.
Her silly Galis was back. Miraculously, they destroyed the chemical weapon and everyone made it out of danger. Maybe God, Inana, or whatever hand of fate that was directing things didn’t hate her after all.
“Thank you! Thank you!” Isa sobbed in relief.