No, thank you very much. He happened to enjoy his role exactly as it was.
“Drinks?” a female wearing a skimpy white dress and far too much makeup offered as she passed by.
“Jack and Coke,” Perfidious called out, drawing her attention.
The female nodded and winked, then followed it up with some not-so-subtle eyeballing that reflected her approval.
Not giving her a second thought, he focused his attention on the empty blackjack table.
“Well, you look rather bored.” He glanced at the name tag on the older female’s shirt. “Beatrice.”
The blackjack dealer smiled, though it didn’t reach her eyes. There wasn’t an ounce of friendly on her aging face, but Perfidious didn’t mind. He wasn’t looking for a friend.
“Perhaps I could keep you company.”
She motioned toward the end seat, as though he actually needed her permission to sit.
“I’m curious, Beatrice, what do you think?” he asked, tilting his head to each side, urging her to look at him as he eased into the chair.
“About?”
“Well, my face, of course.”
“It’s … uh…” She peered over her left shoulder, then her right, as though she hoped someone would come save her from this conversation.
“Go on,” Perfidious urged. “Tell me what you think.”
“It’s a … a very nice face.”
He grinned. “It is, right? No hideous demon here, thank you very much.”
Perfidious was in a good mood, otherwise he would’ve given the human a quick glimpse of his demon face, hidden beneath the facade of human.
Beatrice’s dark eyes saucered before dropping to the table. “Care to place your bet?”
Perfidious had to give her credit; her voice only wavered slightly. Cool as a cucumber, this one.
“I would, yes.”
He pulled out a one-hundred-dollar chip from his pocket. A gift from the male whose body he now sported. After passing it to Beatrice, he waited as she called out to the pit boss to note she was making change. A minute later, she returned smaller chips.
A quick shift and he’d successfully placed the minimum bet.
While Beatrice did her thing, Perfidious clasped his hands and stared at her. “What exactly do you find most fascinating about this face?”
Her forehead wrinkled in confusion.
“Maybe it’s the eyes? The nose?” He touched the knobby protrusion. “Perhaps a tad big, but I think it works well.”
“It does,” she said quickly, eyes never leaving the cards she was dealing.
“Granted, I can’t take any credit,” he explained. “That goes to the male I misappropriated it from last night. One of the perks of being a demon, you know.”
Her eyebrows lifted as though not sure what he meant.
“The ability to take on the appearance of any human I’ve stolen a soul from?”
Beatrice nodded, as though she’d expected him to say that.
