Page 75 of Noctis

I opened my mouth to say no, but “okay” came out instead.

“And if he does somehow discover you’re there,” Caligo said, “I can always kill him.”

“Yeah, there’s always that,” I said, lacking the energy to deliver yet another lecture on why killing people was wrong. I was also uncomfortably aware that if this man had murdered my mother and thrown her body into the river, my feelings might change where that was concerned. Maybe a shadow assassin would prove useful if Donald’s guilt was ever established.

Donald Wentworth lived in Wimbledon, so it was a straightforward trip there on the District Line. I could have called an Uber, but a slower journey seemed preferable for more thinking time. I had no idea whether Caligo stayed with me the entire way or planned to meet me there. It wasn’t as if I was about to start a one-sided conversation with him on the Tube, although, given the number of drunken people traveling between stops, I probably would have fitted right in.

Even with the extra thinking time, the journey felt too short, and before I knew it, I stood in front of Donald Wentworth’s house. “There are no lights on,” I said to Caligo, who’d joined me moments earlier. We hadn’t bothered with clothes for him this time, instead relying on the darkness and his ability to hide between planes if anyone got too close. As it was, the street was almost empty.

“Repeat the plan to me,” I demanded.

Caligo gave me a look.

“I don’t want any improvisation like there was with Tyler.”

“Go inside. Check whether he’s home. If he isn’t, unlock the door and let you in.”

That wasn’t the concerning part. “And if he is there? If he’s asleep in bed?”

“Leave the house and come back to you.”

There was still too much wiggle room in that for my liking. “Straightaway. Don’t speak to him. Don’t engage with him. Don’t take it upon yourself to search the house. Remember, he’s done nothing to me. I’ve never even met him.”

“You think he killed your mother.”

“We have this thing called innocent until proven guilty, so until I find evidence to the contrary, he’s innocent.”

“I understand.”

“I thought you understood with Tyler.”

“He deserved it.”

“Possibly,” I admitted. “But if he’d fallen badly, or you’d hit him slightly too hard, it could have been catastrophic. You’re much stronger than a human.”

Caligo drew himself up to his full height—all seven feet of him. “I am far more of everything than a human.”

Despite the situation, I laughed. “All right. How about we dial the arrogance down a notch?”

“It’s not arrogance when it’s true. Humans can do so little, and I can do so much.”

“You’re not doing much for my ego.”

“You don’t count.”

I rolled my eyes. “I’m a human. Therefore, I count.”

“You’re a special human.”

“Why? Because I have blond curls and blue eyes?”

“You have a good soul.”

Given that I’d been prepared for him to list my other physical attributes, the words took me by surprise. “That’s… kind of sweet.”

“And a big dick.”

And there it was. “Yeah, well…” I waved a hand at the house. “Go and earn the right to that dick by doing your thing.”