“The Poison Gardener”

Not everything in the Poison Garden of Kos Rakhin will kill you on the spot.

Poison gardens are a real thing: places dedicated to the cultivation of toxic plants. Generally speaking they sound cooler and scarier than they are, because most plants — though not quite all! — are only dangerous if you consume them.

But in a world with magic, all those bets are off . . .

Though it’s only faintly visible in this piece, “The Poison Gardener” takes place in a science fantasy setting I’d like to use for other work in the future. This beachhead has been established in the digital pages of Sunday Morning Transport, as of February 2025!