Page 11 of D’Vaire or Nothing (D’Vaire #44)
A s the ruler of the Demonic Imps—Imperian Paszratorabiel Orxarias-Soriandras—walked into the diamond-themed casino, he smiled. The demon at his side made a humming sound nearly under his breath.
“Someone has been keeping secrets, Paz,” Praetor Sashati Orxarias-Soriandras remarked.
Paszra glanced up at his mate and gave in to the impulse to trace his fingers along the small swirls of red and black Sashati had used magic to add to the base of his jaw.
“Who?” Paszra asked.
A chuckle escaped Paszra as the goblin he’d appropriately named Owl sat up straight in the hood of Paszra’s dark cloak.
The goblin was obsessed with reading and used the fabric as a comfy hammock where he could constantly engage in his hobby, no matter where their little family traveled.
Near Paszra’s feet, Owl’s other half, Scout, chirped something emphatically to Owl, and the goblin raced down Paszra’s clothing to rest his sneakered feet on the floor.
“Before I get into Paz’s secrets, let’s discuss some ground rules, Scout,” Sashati said.
“Wait, my secrets?”
“Yes, your secrets. But as I was saying, we can’t have goblins running—”
Sashati was interrupted by the arrival of two dagger-toting goblins on skateboards zooming over to their friends. They were chatting excitedly in the little sounds that made up the only language available to them.
Lich Sentinel Alaric Daray was in hot pursuit of the two goblins. The Arch Lich had given them to him on the solstice many years ago. The sentinel grinned.
“Oh good, you’ve found Paszra and Sasha, enjoy yourselves,” Alaric instructed, then turned on a booted heel and stalked away.
“Great, now we have four goblins to prevent from destroying this entire resort,” Sashati grumbled.
“Patience,” Paszra instructed him. He loved Sashati and had once wrapped him in a tight impenetrable shield of magic to ensure no one would ever harm him. “All we must do is ensure they have a way to stay entertained. They will not willfully damage anything.”
Heedless of the conversation between Paszra and Sashati, the goblins continued to converse and even dash around on their skateboards. All except Owl. The book-loving goblin preferred to keep his tiny dark-red feet safely planted on the ground and in his cute shoes.
“How are we going to do that? This place doesn’t really have goblin distractions.”
“So, make some.”
Sashati frowned. “How?”
“You are a strong sorcerer. Figure it out.”
“No matter how long we are together, you remain committed to making me solve puzzles on my own,” Sashati grumbled.
“I would not wish you to grow bored with your ancient mate.”
With the tips of his fingers, Sashati tilted Paszra’s chin and planted a firm satisfying kiss on his willing mouth.
“Nothing about you is ever boring,” Sashati whispered, sincerity and love blazing in his blue eyes. “Now, let me figure out how to keep these goblins entertained so I can get back to your secrets.”
“Sasha, I have no secrets from you.”
“One problem at a time. Do you think the Emperors would mind if I used magic to temporarily create a skate park for the goblins? This place is enormous, and we could put it in a spot where no one would trip over it.”
“A delightful idea. If you are concerned about the repercussions, contact them.”
“I hate to interrupt their night, but I also don’t want to irritate them by altering their casino—even if it is just for a few hours—without permission,” Sashati said, tugging his cellphone out of his red-and-black leather pants.
“Maybe I’ll send a text to Chrys and Elf along with Zane and Damian.
Hopefully, one of them has a second to answer. ”
Paszra lifted a hand to still his other half. “Is that not Zane rushing through the casino now?”
Sashati flashed a grin that had heat pooling in Paszra’s belly. Then he rushed after the Ducblanc who was in the company of his other half, several other sprites, and a harpy. While Sashati explained his idea to the dragon shifter, Paszra eyed the excited goblins.
“Sasha is going to great lengths to ensure you have a wonderful night. Please be mindful of his efforts and try to refrain from doing anything that would result in you getting fewer cookies later when we go upstairs to our suite.”
Rogue sneered and kicked up his skateboard so he could lean one skinny arm on it. His grumbly chirp was annoyed, and Paszra offered him an apologetic smile.
“Of course I have not forgotten that you are not staying in our suite tonight,” Paszra said.
He used a tiny wisp of his notoriously potent magic and pulled a bag of cookies to him from his hotel room upstairs.
The imps had bought and baked cookies to fill many of these bags for the weekend.
“This is for you and Pizza. I will give it to you at the end of the night so you can share them in private. Is that acceptable?”
Appearing mollified, Rogue glanced at his mate, and Pizza nodded in such a sentinel-like way that Paszra had to tuck in his lips to keep from chuckling.
The goblins adored Alaric and often mimicked him and his people.
It was a balm to Paszra’s soul that the four goblins summoned from the magical source of power for demons, the nuzaz’xor , were well loved and happy.
In a surprising twist, the goblins created by Alaric’s other half, Chander, had some sorcery of their own. Pizza demonstrated this as he summoned a slice of the food he was named for and munched on it while returning Rogue’s head bob. Rogue grinned and rushed over to kiss his other half.
“Why is that still weird?” Sashati asked as he wandered to their group with his gaze locked on the goblins now thoroughly making out.
“Because like everyone connected to the D’Vaire family, you are weird,” Paszra said.
Sashati rolled his eyes and brushed his long dark hair off one broad shoulder.
“Anyway, Zane thinks creating a temporary goblin skatepark is a wonderful idea and we should keep it there until we check out. He suggested we use the high roller area in the center of the casino. It’s not being staffed this weekend, so it’s cordoned off. ”
“Perfect,” Paszra remarked. “Shall we head there now?”
“Come along, goblins, let’s figure out how to create something fantastic for you to enjoy while we’re here at the Deck of Cards.”
Taking Paszra’s hand, Sashati led the charge to the area Zane had recommended.
The goblins raced after them, and it was adorable the way Scout held Owl with one arm as he scooted them along on his skateboard.
It took Paszra seconds for his magic to find the location of the light switches in the darkened section of the casino, and he flipped them all on with a minor spell.
“I’m thinking we use the one at home that Paszra made for you as inspiration but keep it in line with everything else in this fancy resort,” Sashati commented as he surveyed the space.
A wave of demonic magic touched Paszra’s senses, and he grinned.
The two lovers were always eager to use sorcery in their bedroom, and Paszra was nearly as familiar with Sashati’s well of power as his own.
To avoid thinking of how lovely it was to be stroked, touched, and even sucked by Sashati’s sorcery, Paszra focused on the skatepark forming around him.
Sashati had made it weave between the slot machines and added the four symbols of a card deck to the design.
It fit in so well with the design of the resort that it could’ve easily been mistaken as part of the original plans.
Three goblins hugged Sashati’s legs and dashed off to test their new domain with skateboards in tow.
“Go check out the center of it, Owl,” Sashati gently instructed the goblin.
Owl stepped through the maze of hills, pipes, and obstacles to a little area next to a bank of slot machines.
Sashati had created a round couch with a plethora of thick pillows and a playing card-inspired plush throw.
It was the perfect reading nest, and Owl raced back to squeeze Sashati’s leg. Then he dove into the sofa.
Owl tugged his cellphone from his pocket.
It’d taken some work to keep the technology inside from breaking, but Paszra had made it weightless, and with the touch of a finger, the foot-tall Owl could enlarge it for easy viewing or shrink it again to fit in the little pouch in the chest of his overalls.
“Should we leave them to enjoy their evening?” Paszra asked.
“Yes, I’m pretty sure they’ve already forgotten we’re standing here.”
“What do you wish to do in the casino?”
“I’m glad you were specific that our next activity had to be in the casino, or I was going to suggest we sneak upstairs.”
Paszra grinned. “Have no fear, I will have you in me before the sun rises.”
“Rascal. Tell me about the carpet.”
“The carpet?” Paszra asked, dumbfounded, as he and Sashati wandered away from the giddy goblins.
They had no destination, so their feet did not move with purpose; Paszra was enjoying the rare opportunity to go with the flow.
Within a few minutes, his normal drive to tackle everything with purpose and determination would reassert itself, but Paszra was trying for the occasional foray into relaxing.
It rarely worked, thanks to his high energy level.
All imps were spirited. However, Paszra was not one to lose determination.
“Yes, Paz. The carpet.”
“It is a textile. If you are referring to the carpet in this casino, it is being used to walk upon. I suspect it helps to muffle the noise of the many machines in here and perhaps the cheers of those lucky enough to win money.”
“Allow me to be more specific. Tell me about the design on this carpet.”
Paszra was already tired of wandering aimlessly, so he stopped, and Sashati stilled at his side.
Pretending he didn’t know who had used his colored pencils to draw the original pattern of the unique carpet, he said, “Ah, yes. It is primarily in the colors of black and red with accents of gold. I believe if you look carefully, you will find some silver woven in as well. Like the entire resort, its theme is based on playing cards, which is why they named it Deck of Cards . But the imagery on the carpet is subtle. The design is mostly intricate swirls, often referred to as scrollwork on this planet.”
“Are you familiar with the artist?”
“Of the carpet? I suspect carpet needed in such a vast quantity had to be created in a factory.”
“Paz, did you think I wouldn’t recognize something drawn by your own hand?”
Turning to embrace Sashati, Paszra leaned his head on the demon’s chest. “I knew that you would, and I wanted it to be a surprise. It was so flattering to be asked by Elf to create something original for the resort, I told no one, not even my imps. Of course, they immediately knew I had a secret thanks to the way our emotions are linked, but I swore them to secrecy. They congratulated me thoroughly, then rushed off to sing karaoke. What do you think?”
“I think you are the most talented person on this planet.”
“Your goblin creations paired with it perfectly. It is a shame they are temporary.”
“Do you have any other fun surprises for me?”
“The imps made me some casino-themed underwear, but I didn’t pack it.”
Sashati’s brows flew up in surprise. “Why not?”
“Because, as you know, imps don’t wear underwear. They have seen pictures, of course, but they were so focused on including cards they did not think of the size they were producing. Honestly, Sasha, they hang past my knees.”
“How many damn cards did they put on there?”
“An entire deck.”
With a chuckle, Sashati brushed their lips together. “Good thing you left them at home. Maybe we can include them as part of a costume for All Hallows’ Eve or something.”
“Unless I want to go as a casino-themed jester, they are probably better off sold as a pair of capri pants.”
“I really need to see them now.”
“I am not modeling them.”
“Not even for me?”
Paszra grinned as he stared into the blue eyes of the man who completed him. “Once, I believed there was nothing I would not do for you, but it turns out I have found my limits. Not even for you.”
“Fine, but you’re no fun. Now, do you want to go learn how to play some casino games on the machines? I’ve read the rules for Blackjack, but I’m too scared to test my skills with an actual dealer.”
“As long as it is your money we are losing.”
“That’s the spirit,” Sashati enthused as he led them to the area with the gaming machines.
It would prove an interesting challenge for Paszra, since he had no clue how to play blackjack or anything else in the casino, and he looked forward to learning.
As long as he did so alongside the demon he adored.