Plan B

Elara walked out of the base with her face all twisted. She sat down right by the gate and started thinking out loud.

“Okay… got stuck again. This was the worst case. Couldn’t be worse…” Her scowl slowly flipped into a mean little smile, and she whispered low, “Worst case for you, not for me.” Then she laughed, a quiet, dangerous chuckle.

Lux’s voice popped up in her head, dry as always. “At this rate, I’m starting to think you’re one of the undead, Elara.”

She stopped laughing, put on a playful smile, and shot back, “What, can’t I act a little evil? Don’t be such a downer.”

Lux cleared his throat. “Anyway, Elara… you failed at the negotiation with that base leader. And as far as we know, no other base nearby has seen any attacks recently.”

“That’s weird for me too,” she muttered. “I don’t know why. Still, I have to change their minds—get the nearby bases to join us.”

“Look, I asked before, but I’ll ask again—do you have any plan to unite them?” Lux pushed.

Elara grinned, mischief in her face. “I’ll keep the answer for later… Right now, we need to gather the materials for Plan B.”

—

After about eight hours, she arrived back at their base. She went into the main tent, dropped a big sack on the ground, and lay down on the bed.

Lux’s voice sounded worried. “Elara! You’re not going to just sit there, right? This base could get hit any minute!”

She answered calm, almost bored. “Lux, relax. You worry too much. Be patient—wait for the right moment.”

He snapped back, annoyed. “Don’t try to sound like me. Also, I don’t talk like that.”

Elara laughed, stood up, and pointed to the sack. “I picked these up on the way back. You know what’s inside?”

Lux hesitated a moment, then said, clearing his throat, “From what I sense… ashes. Burned remains. Now I think I get your plan.”

“So you finally knew, huh?” she smiled.

Lux sounded a bit excited. “Of course I knew. I just wanted you to draw the plan, not me telling you.”

Elara laughed. “You really thought I’d come up with this so easily?”

He paused a beat, then said softer, “Maybe what you needed to become a leader—or a queen—was to lose someone dear for a short time… even temporarily.”

The smile on Elara’s face went cold. Her mind raced. Does he mean something else? Ben—he was someone I barely knew. He wouldn’t expect help if I didn’t promise it… But if I lose my brothers, if both of them leave me forever… that won’t make me stronger. I hope I’m wrong.

She forced a brighter tone. “Maybe you’re right, Lux. But I’m still trying everything I can to fix things.”

“Sure, you’re trying, Elara. But not to become queen—you're trying to keep a short promise to someone you met. That’s what you needed to grow into a queen. One thing left, and then you can rise. I’ll tell you when the time is right.”

Elara pouted like a kid. “Wait—don’t leave me hanging! Tell me the last thing I need to be queen. Tell me now!”

“Stop the child play. You might even backtrack if you keep this up.”

“No—tell me. Are you lying? Tell me the final condition!”

“I said it’s not time yet.”

Next morning, long before sunrise, Elara woke. She picked up the sack of ashes and left the tent. She went fast to that spot where she’d once fought Talon and burned an undead army. She emptied the ashes on the ground and stood over them.

“All right, Lux. Time to start Plan B.”

Lux’s voice was serious. “Good luck. Just don’t repeat your last mistake, Elara. This time a mistake could kill a lot of people, you hear?”

Elara gave a confident smirk. “Don’t worry. Trust your queen and watch the masterpiece.”

She closed her eyes. For a few seconds they both went dark. A hard wind whipped around her, like a ring of air swirling at her feet. She pushed her hands forward and shouted with all her strength, “Return to life!”

Slowly, ash lifted from the ground and hung in the air. The whole place filled with dust.

The ash thickened. The undead who’d been turned to ash in that old fight rose up again. The army she’d once destroyed stood back up, whole and ready. The storm of dust faded. Elara’s eyes returned to normal, but with a dark tint—the dark eye flashed awake. With a strong mental shout she commanded, loud enough to fill the field:

“Undead—your master from now on is me. Follow my orders or turn to ashes again!”

She fell to her knees, breathing hard.....