A jolt of pain makes him jerk back, and he instinctively clutches his hand to his head. But there's no wound there he can feel, and already the throb is starting to fade. He snarls. Calm down isn't an order that he responds to well (not that there are any orders he responds to well), but the threat of that happening again is enough to provoke a more helpful answer.

"The house is the only thing around here that seems to know anything," he replies in a haughty tone of voice. "I'm just giving it some reasons to start talking."