Master, Card

Cerise was a cardmaster: splashy, gay, extravagant, and deadly. A flamboyant vagabond, she wielded magic-bearing cards for her own profit and others, in small games of chance or even in the lords' Great Games. She was a weapon master too -- to protect the cards and intermittent wealth they brought her.

Byron was pale, cold, dour, and desperate. He looked as if demons were after him, which they were. A cardsmith's apprentice, he already could imbue cards with magic and could decode spells other cardsmiths had hidden in cards -- but he was powerless against the forces chasing him. But powerless or not, hunted or not, he had a hot hand -- and Cerise wanted him.

It was either the beginning of a beautiful friendship -- or something deadly.