The map before me glowed faintly under the candlelight. Pins, ribbons, and charcoal scrawls marked every inch, supply routes, patrol rotations, ambush sites. My eyes locked on the southern ridge.
"They'll be here", I muttered, tracing the curve of the valley. "Just before dawn."
General Thalor cleared his throat, leaning over the table like a looming bear. "Or they'll flank west. You're gambling again, strategist."
"I don't gamble, General", I said smoothly, fingers tapping against the mark I'd drawn. "I calculate."
He snorted. "You're either brave or suicidal."
"Is there a difference at this point?" muttered Captain Veris, sipping something suspicious from his tin cup. It hissed like it had once been alive.
"Did you just drink venom?" I asked, mildly curious.
"It's coffee", Veris replied. "Demon blend. Makes your heart punch your lungs. Want some?"
"No", I said flatly. "I need my brain working. Unlike yours."
Veris grinned, unbothered. "Suit yourself."
Thalor sighed like a weary father. "We've had three scouts vanish in the last two days. You're still certain the Holy Alliance will send their elite here?"
I turned back to the map. "They think the ridge is a weak point. I let them believe that. I've ordered the demon blacksmiths to reinforce the base of the cliffs. If they climb, it'll collapse beneath them."
"But if they don't climb?" asked Thalor.
I pointed to the eastern pass. "Then they walk into a staged supply wagon 'accident.' Inside the wagon, alchemical napalm."
Veris whistled. "You're really making friends out there."
I leaned back, a slow smile forming. "That's the plan."
The camp outside buzzed with movement. Orders were shouted, crates moved, weapons sharpened. I stepped among them, watching demons and traitor-humans alike prepare under the night sky. Lanterns swayed. The stars felt closer here, dangerously so, like they were watching me too.
A young demon courier, barely the height of my waist, scurried up to me, tripping over his own tail.
"L-Lady Ayaka! A message from Lord Valekhar!"
I took the scroll, unrolling it. The Demon King's writing was elegant, almost scholarly.
'I see the stars shift in your favor. Continue. I've sent the Wraith-Hounds as your flank guard.'
"Finally", I murmured. "They're faster than any horse and twice as bloodthirsty."
Veris peered over my shoulder. "Can I pet one?"
"No."
"Can I name one?"
"No."
He paused. "You're no fun."
"Correct."
Later, in my tent, I ran my fingers over a crude wooden carving, one I hadn't looked at in years. A soldier. A simple pawn. My teacher in the slums had given it to me when I won our first strategy match. She called herself "Old Hen", though she was neither old nor a hen.
"Remember", she'd said, jabbing my forehead, "no strategy survives idiots. Plan for chaos. And use it."
She taught me everything: war theory, political trickery, even how to cheat at dice. Her lessons lived in my bones now. Sometimes, I still heard her cackling when I plotted something wicked.
"I hope you're watching, Old Hen", I whispered.
Dawn threatened the sky when I returned to the ridge. My soldiers stood in formation, hidden behind the sharpened stones and under dark cloaks.
"You all know what to do", I said. "And if you don't... improvise. It worked last time."
A demon foot soldier raised a claw. "Is that an official order?"
"Yes", I said. "By decree of the Over-planner herself."
That got a chuckle. Even General Thalor smiled, which for him was like a glacier cracking.
Then, silence. A breeze. Birds disturbed.
A glint on the far slope, metal.
"Here they come", I whispered.
Veris appeared beside me, cup in hand again. "Want a sip?"
"No".
He offered it to Thalor. The general stared at the cup, then at Veris. "You've survived this long drinking that?"
"Barely", Veris grinned.
"Remind me to write your eulogy early".
As the enemy began their approach, I gave the signal. My fingers snapped once, sharply. From behind the ridge, the false supply wagon exploded in bright green flame. Screams echoed. Chaos followed.
My trap had worked.
Now, it was time for part two.
And this time, I would make the Holy Alliance dance.