Unhappy, he dragged his gaze to mine. “I might have a way we can kill off the Theobroma trees without tipping off the Cartel.”

Janco glanced at him in surprise. “Why do you look so glum? That’s fantastic news!”

“There’s a strong chance it would destroy all the Theobroma trees in Sitia. Every one.”

I understood his reluctance. To Esau, plants, trees and flowers were almost as precious as people.

“Good riddance,” Janco said. “It has brought nothing but trouble. In my mind, it’s just as bad as magic.”

“It counters the effects of Curare,” Esau said.

“Until the Theobroma-resistant Curare is ready,” Janco shot back.

“That won’t be for another three or four years.”

“That’s based on the plants in this hothouse and the one in Broken Bridge,” I said. “Owen’s people had more time. There’s a possibility that it’s ready now.” A sobering thought. “What’s your idea, Father?”

He stared at his hands, then picked up a twig from the ground. Using the broken end, he cleaned the dirt from under his nails.

“Father?”

Esau sighed. “There’s a fungus that grows in the Illiais Jungle. It’s called Frosty Pod because it resembles snow. It causes the pods on the Theobroma trees to rot. I’ve isolated it to one part of the jungle and have been working on a fungicide. But if we were to harvest the spores and spread them, then it would damage all the pods and appear natural.”

“Spread them how?” Ari asked.

“With the wind. We’d need to be upwind on a windy day.”

“And be in the perfect spot,” Janco said. “And hope the wind is strong enough to carry the spores throughout Sitia.”

Undeterred, Esau said, “We can travel from city to city, starting at the Illiais Market, then to Booruby and farther north.”

“What about through the glass walls of the hothouses?” Janco’s good mood soured and he stabbed a stick into the fire. “Besides, we can’t control the weather.”

Excitement shot through me. “No. But Zethan and the Stormdancers can. Would seeding rain clouds with the spores work as well?” I asked Esau.

“Fungus loves moisture.”

“Can the spores get inside the hothouses?” Ari asked.

“There are small holes in the glass panels in the ceiling that allow the smoke from the burning coals to escape,” Esau said. “Plus those spores will stick to boots and clothing, so when a worker enters the house, he’ll drag them in with him.”

“How long until the pods rot?” Ari leaned forward.

“I don’t know for sure, as I’m never there right when they’re infected, but it’s aggressive. The pods shouldn’t last more than ten days. Eventually the fungus kills the tree as well, but that takes longer. However, the tree won’t produce any more pods.”

I glanced at Ari. Judging by the contemplative gleam in his eyes, he was probably thinking the same thing as me. The fungus just might work. I calculated the timing. Ten days for die-off, then probably another twenty before the Cartel ran out of Theobroma—maybe sooner, but it was better to overestimate—then add ten for the effects to wear off. Forty total. That meant we would have to finish spreading the spores by day fifty of the heating season if we wanted to attack the garrisons in the middle of the hot season. So with at least ten days for travel time, our start date would need to be day forty of the heating season, which was forty-six days away. Of course, starting sooner would be even better. I explained my math to the others.

“Father, can you collect enough spores by then?” I asked.

“There are not enough right now for your plan to work. I’ll need time to find a dark, moist location to grow more of the Frosty Pod. Given enough nutrients, heat and moisture, the Frosty Pod should multiply like rabbits.”

“Then we have to start as soon as possible,” Ari said.

I agreed. “After we rendezvous with Valek and Leif, we’ll break into two teams—one to go with my father to help with the spores, and the other to arrange for Zethan and a Stormdancer to meet Esau at the Illiais Market on day forty.”

* * *

The next morning, we packed up our small camp. The plan was to head for the Stormdance travel shelter. I avoided considering the possibility that Leif and Valek wouldn’t be there and instead focused on my stubborn father.

“I need to return home and get started right away,” he argued. “We don’t have much time.”

He had a point. Except... “It’s not safe for you to travel alone. The Cartel will be searching for you.”

“I’m going with him,” Nutty said. “I’m not staying here.”

Aghast, Esau asked, “But what about the plants?”

“We’ll take a few of them with us, but we do have an entire jungle full of plants.”

He ignored her jab. “It’s a shame we can’t take the glass hothouse.”

I interrupted his musings. “Promise me you’ll travel through the plains as long as you can.”

“Of course,” Esau said.

“All right. Mara, would you like to go with them? I’ll send Leif to you as soon as he arrives.”

“No, thanks. I’d rather not wait any longer than I have to. Besides, I’m still in training,” she said, glancing at Onora.