The Wendigo took a long time to burn.

"It's the regeneration," William explained. He had to shout to be heard. Hundreds of voices cried and screamed as Mike's flame broiled the thing. "They heal so fast, it can take days to burn them all the way down." He rested his sword on his shoulder as he watched it burn. "Sometimes they manage to reattach a limb and get away."

"We don't have days," I shouted back. "Roderick's got Nynyane already."

"Don't worry," the Green Knight assured me. "Mike's burning a lot hotter than a normal fire. Should be an hour or two at most." He looked up at the sky. "They won't be able to open the Partition until nightfall, anyway."

"Why not?"

"How should I know?" William shrugged. "Fucking magic, right?" He sounded oddly cheerful. "You smell that?" He took a deep breath. "Smells like vengeance."

I gave him a dubious look. The clean smell of flame and woodsmoke was not enough to stifle the stench of death and rotting meat. Worse was the savory smell of good meat on a fire. It was like standing next to a barbeque full of bacon on top of a pile of rotting corpses.

"You are seriously messed up," I told him.

"Hey!" Mike shouted to get our attention. The Red Knight still had one fist raised as he urged his fire to burn hotter and brighter. "Shouldn't someone be keeping watch? I don't want to get blindsided again."

"Patrick's on it," William yelled back. He dropped his sword off his shoulder, taking a more professional stance. "You better keep a look out, too. I'll stand by in case the prick tries to get away."

I was happy to oblige, if only to get away from the smell. I made a decoy, and placed my invisible self a good thirty yards away from the fire. It wasn't enough. My nostrils were still full of bacon and rot. I tried to make the smell disappear, but my illusion powers were only good for sight and sound.

Speaking of sound, the screeches of the Wendigo were getting on my nerves. They were getting on Mike's nerves too, judging from his stream of profanity. I mimed holding a remote control, and aimed it in the direction of the giant burning cannibal. I said, "click." The forest went quiet, save for the roar of Mike's fire.

"Thank you!" Mike hollered.

"I'd thank you more if you did that half an hour ago," William griped. I didn't dignify him with a response. I'd been busy. Besides, what if I muted the thing and we couldn't hear it pull itself back together? I was just being strategic. It's not like I just forgot I could do that. I mean, what kind of idiot would hear that much screaming and just forget he was a human mute button?

Don't look at me like that. It was a stressful day.

I kept a look out as best I could, but the fear and tension that kept me alert gave way to boredom by the end of the first hour. Mike got bored, too. He started pestering William. Like me, he'd guessed the Green Knight had a history with this particular monster. William refused to talk about it at first, but eventually gave in and told the story.

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

"It was 1930. We got word that a little town went missing. In Canada, a place by a lake called Angikuni. Edgar was the only other experienced Knight at the time, so I left him to train our new recruits and went to take a look."

"It was the Wendigo," Mike guessed. William nodded. I drifted closer so I could hear better. I still stayed invisible. I tried to keep looking around like I should, but my ears were focused on the Green Knight. It was probably fine, I figured. Mike's giant column of fire wasn't exactly quiet, so it's not like I'd hear the enemy sneaking, anyway.

"Bloody bastard," William lifted his visor and spat into the fire. "Caught me just outside the town. Wasn't much of a fight. Doesn't matter how skilled you are when the enemy can move faster than you can see. The son of a bitch tore my legs off. Ate them right in front of me." His glared into the fire. "Then he figured out I could grow them back."

The Green Knight spat again. "He kept me for months. Tore pieces off me. Cooked them, sometimes. I tried to fight. Tried to run away. Nothing worked." He reached up, pulling his visor back down over haunted eyes. "Eventually, Edgar and the other Knights tracked us down. The bastard didn't stay to fight. Just fucked off, never to be seen again." He took a breath and let it out slow, gaze fixed on the butchered mass writhing in the flames. "Until today, at least. You can't imagine how happy am to see him again."

My cell phone wasn't working, but my best guess is it took three hours for Mike's bigass fire to turn the Wendigo to ash. Maybe four. No one complained. Even if William hadn't needed the satisfaction, I didn't want something that fast, stealthy, and dangerous coming up behind us.

Once it was done, we took off at a brisk jog. The jog lasted for a good five minutes. Maybe ten. Then I ran out of breath. I looked like I was in good shape, but that was just lucky genetics. I hadn't run a mile since high school.

"You can't be serious." The Green Knight radiated disgust.

"Fuck you," I huffed at him. "This armor weighs a ton."

"Sixty kilograms," William corrected. "But you've got the strength of seven men, so it's like you're only carrying eight or nine. Running should be easy."

"Cut him a break," said Patrick. "The brother's only been a Knight for two days."

"I know that," the Green Knight snapped. "But we don't have time." He looked up at the sky. I guessed he was gauging the time. "We've got to get to the keep before sunset."

"Well it can't be that far," Mike commented. "This place is an island, right?"

"So is England," Patrick pointed out. "That doesn't mean it's small."

Mike grunted. He gave me a considering look. "I could carry you, I guess."

"Shut up," I told him.

"No, seriously," the Red Knight took a step closer. "I can do it."

"No, seriously," I told him. "Shut up."

"The man's got his pride," Patrick clamped a supportive hand on my shoulder. "Besides, you can't fight if you're carrying a man. Could be a problem if we get jumped."

"We might be better off slowing down a little," William grudgingly allowed. I could hear his grimace. "Traps and ambushes and all that."

"You guys go on ahead," I suggested. I knew it was a bad idea, but I was tired, embarrassed, and feeling more than a little inadequate. I desperately wanted the conversation to end. "I'll catch up."

"Hell no," Mike and William spoke at the same time. They looked at each other. The Red Knight gestured for the Green Knight to continue. "We stick together. Anyone going it alone is just begging to get picked off."

"You've seen enough movies to know that," Mike added.

"Fine," I gave up. "I'll keep going as fast as I can. It's not gonna be that fast, though."

"We'll stay with you," Mike assured me.

"Push hard," William ordered. "We've got a long way to go, and we can't afford to faff about. If we fall too far behind, you might have to let Mike carry you."

"No I won't," I decided. I drew Solais. "Anyone who tries to pick me up is getting stabbed."