Book 1 - The Sins of Disapeni

Yarray, The Living Palindrome
  1. Yarray touched his right hand to the firewood, setting it aflame. The pewter stein in his left hand simultaneously froze over.
  2. He was the Living Palindrome by his singular name and unique ability.  His magic would only work under three rules.
  3. First, whatever magic he performed with his right caused the opposite result with his left.
  4. Second, he had to touch both subjects of his magic.   One with his right hand, and one with his left.
  5. Third, he had to understand the entwined causes and effects of casting two opposing spells simultaneously.
  6. Thus was he able to enjoy a warm fire and a cold mug of ale from a single use of his magic.  He could not have one without the other
  7. He slept alone and content that night, and a wolf attacked.  Yarray waited until it was above him, then gripped the beast’s neck.
  8. Yarray held tight to his half-eaten rabbit with his other hand.  He commanded his magic into both subjects.
  9. The wolf bit down hard on Yarray’s face in utter futility. Its teeth had melted far into its gums.
  10. Yarray punched the wolf several times in the face. The animal leaped backward and whined in its confusion.
  11. The wolf eventually wandered back into the darkness, whimpering and useless.  Yarray smirked.
  12. The half-eaten rabbit in his hand had grown two buck teeth as long as a man’s arm. He thought to sell the head as a trophy.
  13. He chose instead to impale the rabbit’s head on a nearby tree branch, and let the next passer-by wonder about its origins.
  14. He laid down and fell asleep quickly.  Using his magic against the living was as draining as a quick run from danger.
  15. The sun rose all morning, finally shining on his eyes from overhead.  Yarray scratched an unshaven cheek and cursed the light.
  16. He packed quickly and began walking toward the city. Before crossing a tattered bridge, he cleaned his hair in the cold river below.
  17. An hour later he ate his lunch of jerky and stale rye bread. He picked his teeth with his dagger on the last leg of his walk.
  18. The city rose rose before him, separated by a river and a bridge. Yarray put one forefinger in his mouth and the other against a rock.
  19. His teeth shined like the stars at midnight, his breath as fresh as a spring breeze.  The rock quickly covered in algae and grime.
  20. At last he entered Disapeni. The city was a haven of trade above and below the law. Weathered farmhands and battered con-men.
  21. Yarray could earn easy money with a magic act, restock his supplies, and be on his way.  This was his secondary reason for being here.
  22. The first reason was Cyn.  She would only see him three nights; before, during, and after the full moon.  Cyn was his kind of woman.
  23. Yarray was free to love and live as he chose, with a woman who only demanded that he live as he chose for all but those three nights.
  24. She understood that the need to always understand the cause and effect of his magic was balanced by his risk taking in life.
  25. Her attraction to him swelled at the thought of his blind risks.  She would tell him nothing of her life outside of those three nights.
  26. Yarray loved Cyn all the more for it.  He knew before entering the Forked Spirit that she would be inside. She never failed him.
  27. The Forked Spirit sold double-sized drinks filled with ample helpings of water.  Drunkards on a budget flocked to the tavern.
  28. People wishing to take advantage of the drunkards hovered around the inn like wobbling vultures. Yarray was one of these men.
  29. “My room?” he asked the proprietor.  The fat, sweaty man nodded.  “Your silver?”  Yarray dropped two pieces on the counter.
  30. “My woman?” he inquired.  “I’m right behind you,” she answered.  Yarray turned to see her, beautiful as ever.
  31. Cyn wore a black dress cut dangerously low at the chest and dangerously high near the thighs.
  32. The ample lining of black animal fur barely preserved her modesty. Her face was painted as in glamorous hues with the subtlety of warpaint.
  33. She was luxury and savagery in clashing brilliance. Yarray asked, “Shall we dine first, my lady?”
  34. “No.” Her answer was determined enough to intimidate a lesser man. “You can eat when you need to recover.” She glared at him shamelessly.
  35. Yarray smirked at the proprietor. “If I’m not out after 3 days, send the mortician.” He grasped Cyn’s waist and took her to their room.
  36. In the privacy of their cramped, barely-cleaned room, Cyn immediately assumed a dominant role.  Yarray knew this to be her idea of foreplay.
  37. She made him crawl out from beneath her body, her unraveled hair only adding to the savagery of her makeup.
  38. Yarray ate a bowl of thick stew in the common room, knowing what would come next. He returned to find she had bound herself to the bed.
  39. The hours that followed provided Cyn with what she really wanted. One of his hands gave her intense pleasure.  The other gave intense pain.
  40. That night, Cyn fell asleep first.  Yarray reached panting for his mug of water, but succumbed to sleep before he could grasp it.
  41. They slept heavily in their mingled sweat spread across the sheets, joined by their tangled legs.
  42. Yarray woke alone at high noon. He drank half the mug of stale water and dropped the rest over his head. Cyn would be back at dark.
  43. He went to work at competing taverns. Few drunks cheered for a knife juggler. All cheered when blades jutted from both ends of the handle.
  44. Juggling fire with his right hand while chilling ales with his left earned substantial tips. Barkeeps expelled him if he earned too much.
  45. He returned to the Forked Spirit with a new waterskin, a loaf of rye bread, and a smirk. “A round for the house, on me.”
  46. The drunkards cheered. Yarray paid happily, the men drank happily, and the proprietor accepted his payment with reserved enthusiasm.
  47. Cyn returned an hour after dark, carrying a burlap sack. Yarray shared a curious glance with the proprietor then followed Cyn to their room.
  48. The sack was full of enough items both plain and exotic to entertain them until, that night, Yarray succumbed first to exhaustion.
  49. The sky was showing the very first hints of dark morning violet when the proprietor began to bang desperately on the door. “The Duke!”
  50. Cyn was awake. She was dressing in a panic as the fist hit the door in faster blows. “The Duke wants in right now!”
Keep watching.  There’s more to come next week.