Wolves' Bane (The Order of the Wolf, #3)(67)
“No way, that thing stinks.”
Cal chuckled as he moved to the side and draped an arm over the beast’s neck. “This is what we use to train in one of the most important ways we can. Norman is a taxidermied beast.”
“Eww.” I grimaced. “So he was once alive? Oh god, that’s why he smells so bad.”
“Yeah, it’s the fur—we can’t seem to do anything about the smell from it. But really, he comes in handy. Most Huntresses never get a chance to face off with a beast before they’re bonded. I mean, face off with one and live to tell about it. It’s quite overpowering the first time, and can be very distracting.”
I nodded as I waved my hand in front of my nose. “You’ve got that right. He smells exactly like Lazarus did, except this guy isn’t drooling all over the place.”
Cal removed his arm from the beast and positioned his hand to cover the thing’s massive chest. “We use this model to train the Huntresses in other ways too.”
I cocked an eyebrow and took a step closer, my curiosity getting the better of me.
“A wound from a Huntress is lethal. Any wound from any weapon, if it’s wielded by a Huntress, will eventually kill a beast. The magic from the wound acts like a poison, eating away until the beast dies. But that can take months, sometimes years. Not good in the heat of battle.” Cal ran his hand along the wall of matted fur. “There is only one easy way to kill the beast on the spot.” He tapped his fingers in the center of the chest. “You have to hit a vital part of its heart, which is not in the same place as a human’s. It actually rests to the right of center chest, and the part that you want to hit is straight down.” He angled his fingers to point downward. “You have to aim your weapon straight down into the beast’s chest cavity, which is lined with layers of thick muscle, right into the center of the heart.” He tapped his fingers on the dead beast’s chest one last time, then lowered his hand. “And only a Huntress can make the fatal blow. It’s either that or decapitation, but believe it or not, this is the easier method.”
I took a step closer and examined the spot that Cal had been touching. “I thought you said that you use this to train the Huntresses. I’m assuming that means that Candy has used it to train.” I frowned as I glanced over at Cal. “So why aren’t there any knife marks?”
Cal smiled. “Very observant.” He waved his hand in the beast’s direction as he walked behind the stand and headed toward the weapons locker. “Lance uses his ability to knit flesh back together to fix it after every training session.”
My eyebrows rose. “Lance is a healer?”
Cal shook his head as he popped open the double doors of the cabinet. “No, not a healer in that way. He can stitch things back together. Flesh, cloth, metal, whatever—if he uses his power, he can mend it. Mostly, he uses it to heal flesh wounds. It sure beats the hell out of stitches.”
I nodded. “That’s pretty cool.”
Cal glanced over his shoulder at me, his eyebrows raised.
I chuckled and waved my hand at him. “But not as cool as your powers.”
He laughed. “Yeah, speaking of which, you’ve got a pretty impressive level of intensity. I’d like to test your range and mastery of spells over the next few days.”
I nodded as I stretched my hands out in front of me. It had been strange, welding the power. The symbols came to me naturally, popping into my head as I needed them, like my body knew exactly what I could do, even though I didn’t.
“I spent my life training, learning and building those spells. You have the entire wealth of my knowledge in you.” He turned toward me, two daggers in his hands. “It’s common for the Huntress to have superior abilities to the Hunter. We are, after all, just the vessel. It’s you women who hold the true power once we’ve bonded with you.”
I dropped my hands back to my sides. “Well, thanks, Cal.” I smirked. “Your spells have come in handy a time or two.”
He pursed his lips as he sauntered over to me. “I should make you vow never to use my own magic against me.”
“I’d never agree to it.”
“No, I suppose not. But at least promise me that you won’t do anything too horrible, even if you’re so pissed at me that you can’t see straight?”
I laughed as I snatched one of the blades from his hands. “Okay, I can promise that as long as you promise never to act like a total and complete jackass ever again.”
Cal smiled. “I can definitely promise that.”
I moved toward the beast and positioned the tip of the blade where I thought Cal’s fingers had been. “Is this the right place?”
Cal narrowed his eyes as he scrutinized my hand, and then the blade, edging it slightly to the side and then wrapping his fingers around my wrist to straighten my angle. “There.” He stepped away. “Can you feel the resistance of the muscle?”
I applied some pressure, flexing my arm as I tried to push the blade in. It wouldn’t budge. I braced my other hand against the beast’s shoulder, lifting myself slightly off the ground in order to get better leverage. A sweat broke out on my brow as I pushed down with all of my strength, forcing the blade in, bit by bit.
Heaving a deep breath, I let loose a growl as I finally felt it slide in. I released my breath in an explosion of air and turned toward Cal. “Holy crap! That is some tough muscle to get through.”