Page 61 of Noctis

“And you’re not capable of any freaky mind-transference things, like making me come without touching me?”

“No.”

I was almost disappointed. “Night, Caligo.”

“Good night, Rowan.”

Chapter Twenty-one

Rowan

I dedicated most of the following day to putting my house to rights. The furniture was easy enough to put back where it belonged, especially with Caligo helping. I suspected that he could have lifted most of it with one hand. The blood in the bathroom was also easy to eradicate thanks to the wipe-clean nature of most of its surfaces. The blood in the living room was another matter, though, with the stain refusing to shift no matter how much I scrubbed it.

I sighed. “Could you not have bounced his head off a different surface?”

“A spike?”

“No, not a spike. That would have killed him.”

“Maybe not.” The way Caligo said it made it sound like an experiment he’d be interested in conducting.

“You seem to hate Tyler more than I do. I just wanted him out of my house and my life. I never wanted him dead, and I never will.” I took a step back to better study the wall. It looked pink rather than red, but that was the best that could be said about it. “I need some paint.”

Two hours and one trip to B&Q later, I finally had the means to rid myself of the permanent reminder of Tyler’s presence on my wall. “Do you eat?” I asked Caligo as I levered the lid off the paint tin and dipped in the brush.

“No.”

“Nothing at all?”

“I don’t need to. The power of the moon sustains my life force.”

“Of course it does,” I muttered. “It’s terribly old-fashioned to have to eat. I’m ashamed of myself every time I indulge in such an archaic ritual.”

“You’re being sarcastic.”

I aimed a lopsided grin his way. “I’m glad you can recognize it. No way I could have you around if you couldn’t.” I applied the first coat of paint to the wall and deduced that it was going to need two, which meant waiting for this one to dry. I sat back and considered Caligo. “Tell me about yourself.”

“What do you want to know?”

“Your age. Whether there are others like you or you’re one of a kind. Where you come from?”

“I’m hundreds of years old.”

“Jesus! How do you not get bored?” I was joking, but Caligo seemed to take the question seriously.

“I can lie dormant for long periods of time.”

“Dormant?”

“I can simply cease to exist. I could pass centuries that way if I wanted to.”

“That sounds dangerous. What if you forgot to exist again?”

“I don’t know. It’s never happened.”

“And the others?” I prompted.

“There are thousands of us spread across the globe. Some are active. Some―”