The Internet Book Database of Fiction

#	Date	Publisher	Binding	Cover
1	1997-02-01	Baen

Blurb:: 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. The demon-haunted cardsmith"s apprentice Byron struggles with his limited skills and the attacks of his enemies, and when he comes into the possession of some very hot magic-bearing cards, he draws the attention of the cardmaster Cerise.