"The Red Knight's a pussy," William said apologetically. Green armor encased the man, reflecting the light of the morning sun. "Always has been."

"Are you trying to get your ass kicked again?" Mike growled. His sword burst into flame. "Because it sounds like you're trying to get your ass kicked."

Jasper's place hadn't been too hard to find. William had known the man's full name, and we already knew he lived near Missoula. It took Mike a total of five minutes to find the address and get directions on his phone. It was a nice place, too. A two story house on several acres of land, roughly fifteen minutes from Seeley Lake. The house was sheathed in wooden half logs, giving it a log cabin sort of feel. Police tape and bullet holes ruined the aesthetic somewhat, but what the hell. Beggars can't be choosers.

We were standing on the hill behind the house, knee deep in tall, yellow grass. A larger set of hills stretched beyond it, dotted with pine trees.

"Sorry mate," The Green Knight raised a hand in a placating gesture. "I don't mean you, personally. I'm saying the Red Knights have always been the weakest of the bunch."

"It was one of the first Armors ever made," Patrick explained. He hadn't donned his armor yet. His afro stirred slightly in the breeze, as did his long brown coat. "Some old king had it made to go with his magic spear. It doesn't have as many powers as the ones that came later."

"Hell," said William. "It doesn't even have the powers it was supposed to have. The damn thing was supposed to make you immune to fire. Old Celtchar's magic spear burned him to death while he was wearing it."

"So I'm not fireproof." Mike spared a look at his flaming sword. "That's good to know. I guess."

"You're missing the point, mate." William shook his head. "The Red Knight's good enough against your average beastie, but you're badly outclassed against any other Knight, and it's other Knights we'll be fighting."

"In over a thousand years, there's only been two times the Red Knight managed to beat another Knight in combat," Patrick added. "And that guy had better weapons than you."

"What do you mean better weapons?" Mike gestured with his sword. "Look at this thing. It's on fire."

"Yeah," said Patrick. "It's on fire. And nothing else."

"The sword's named Dyrnwyn," said William*. "*It will summon flames if drawn by a worthy man, it can throw fire at the enemy, and it's nearly indestructible."

"See?" I could almost hear him grin. "That's badass."

William and Patrick shared a look. William sighed "Badass, is it?" He sheathed his sword and stretched his hands to either side. "Alright then, Mike. Stab me with your badass sword."

"You sure?" Mike hesitated.

"Just do it."

Mike shrugged. He knew as well as I did that William could heal. "Ok, then." The Red Knight surged forward. Drynwyn struck with the full force of his body behind it. The flaming blade slammed point first into the Green Knight's sternum, doubling him over and knocking him off his feet. William rolled backwards as his back hit the grass, smoothly returning to a standing position.

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Mike looked at William, then back at his sword. It was still on fire, but it had failed utterly to penetrate the Green Knight. "The hell?"

"Exactly." The Green Knight drew his own sword. A flick of his wrist sent it whipping into the Red Knight's arm. The tip sliced through his armor like it was made of kleenex. Mike cursed, jumping backwards. His grip on Drynwyn tightened, and he brought his shield into position.

"Drynwyn's durable, but it won't pierce armor." William sheathed his sword and stepped up to Mike, slapping a hand on his wounded arm. Since Mike didn't immediately hit him, I assumed it was a healing touch. "Against other Knights, it's about as useful as a stick."

"The Orange Knight's sword won't cut armor either," Patrick added. "But everybody else can."

"Well that sucks," Mike admitted. "But it doesn't matter." He flexed his arm, a meaningless gesture since his muscles were covered in platemail. "I've still got super strength."

"The strength of seven," William agreed. "We all have it." He jumped twelve feet in the air to demonstrate. "It's not that big an advantage, really. Mr. Evil's revenants were nearly as strong, and there's plenty of things that are stronger."

""Your armor was the prototype." Patrick pointed out. "The only ability you have that we don't is that you can control fire."

"Which we are all resistant against." William shook his head. "Which makes you bloody useless in a fight."

"Hey, Kevin," Patrick pointed past the house. There was a white SUV with lights on top coming up the long driveway. "Cops are coming."

"I got it," I told him. A quick effort summoned my armor. With another thought, I made all of us, along with our parked Jeep, invisible.

"What about the Lady?" William asked.

"I took care of it," I assured him. "She's invisible, too." At least I was pretty sure she was. I wished the armor would give some sort of feedback. Things would get awkward fast if Nynyane was still visible and I didn't know it.

We had to wait patiently for the better part of twenty minutes while Sheriff Deputies checked the place out. I silently cursed whatever nosy neighbor had called them. I'd known the police had been there, of course. The yellow tape and the big stain in the living room where Jasper's body had been were hard to miss. I just wasn't expecting them to come back. Thank goodness Patrick had been on the lookout.

I waited until the deputies were well out of sight before I dropped the illusion. Mike immediately set his sword on fire again. He reached out with his shield hand, and the flame gathered into a ball above his fist. "So I can control fire, huh?" He nodded to himself. "I can work with that."

"Did you hear anything I said?" William sounded exasperated.

"Red Knight's weak," Mike repeated for him. "Can't pierce armor and other knights are resistant to fire. Don't worry. I got it." He started down the backside of the hill, making shapes out of his ever increasing ball of flames. "I'm gonna practice this fire thing for a bit."

We watched him go. William muttered some choice words under his breath.

"What about me?" I asked. "What can I do?"

"You already know," said Patrick. "You make illusions."

"It's just sight and sound, but that's more than enough." William glared down at Mike, still walking and playing with his fireball. "If the Red Knight's the weakest, the White Knight might be the most dangerous."

"That's why Roderick went for Jim first," Patrick grimaced at the memory. "He could have turned the tables by himself if he got the chance."

"Illusion's already a lethal ability," the Green Knight added, "But you've also got one of the deadliest swords." He pointed at the weapon on my hip. "Used to belong to the King of the Celtic gods."

"Solais," Patrick named it. "The Sword of Light. It'll cut through anything. Armor, souls, spells, Solais don't give a shit."

"A weapon made by gods to kill other gods." William unsummoned his armor and scratched his head. "Plus it makes sunlight. That's useful, sometimes."

I drew Solais. The blade burst into brilliant light. It was like looking at the sun. I squinted, then tried to sweep the sword through the tall grass. I misjudged the strike, and ended up swinging the sword into the ground. I didn't feel any resistance. Solais sliced through the dirt and rocks like water, incidentally bisecting every blade of grass it touched.

"Holy shit," I breathed. I gazed at the next hill, where the Red Knight was playing with his useless ball of fire. "Mike got screwed!"