I couldn't believe that I had got myself mixed up with the Order again. They had been right to put Anders in charge; he was charismatic and persuasive. And they were right to send him after me. Anyone else probably would have been killed.

"You could have killed him." Tyrfing said. I ignored the ever-present voice in my head.

Here I was, stalking the enemies of the Order of Vigilance once again. I kept tight to the shadows, moving only when the search lights of the heavily guarded dock moved away. The dock security had been blissfully ignorant of what was going on here. Like most normal people. They flicked their flash lights about with no regard or desire to actually finding anything. Routine has made them lazy. I ducked behind the cement pillar of one of the warehouses. It smelt like oil and iron.

"This is almost too easy." The sword said, bored of the recon mission.

The nearest guard suspected nothing and went about his circuit, then returned to the comfort of his little guard shack. I sprinted, my feet hardly making a sound.

"You could kill him too. That could be fun."

I heard voices as I got closer to the docked ship I was looking for. It stood out in the shipyard, being the only eighteenth century pirate ship around. After I climbed a low stack of shipping containers, I saw my targets; seven burly men dressed in all black. Typical grunts. I scanned among them for someone more important than the meat shields.

Eventually my eyes settled on a smaller man, who made no effort to hide himself or be discreet. He walked weird, with swagger as the youth would say. His hair was short and spiky and he wore a heavy gold chain over his plain white wife-beater. His pants sagged well passed his ass in an attempt to be 'trendy'.

“Y’all morons go grab the coffin. Boss man wants it tonight, says some shit's about to go down.” His voice was irritating.

The burly men headed off into one of the shipping containers. After a few uncomfortable moments, I can see them starting to struggle with what looks like a large crate.

“Careful with that shit yo! You bust that open and we’ll all be fucked!” The punk yelled. The muscle reasserted their grip and shifted slower. The crate turned out to be more of a sarcophagus. Not the kind that the ancient Egyptians used, but more of an elaborate altar with a removable top. It was burnished gold color and longer than it was wide. On the one side I could see it has some kind of engraving I couldn't make out from this distance.

"Get closer and find out." Tyfring whispered.

I reached behind me and Tyrfing materialized on my back, red smoke flowing around the sheath. I could feel its rage tearing at the edges of my mind, begging to be freed.

“Not yet.” I whispered out loud. A wave of anguish rippled through me and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up.

I watched closely as the men in black slowly moved towards their vessel from the shipping container on the dock. The pirate ship was large with black sails and a blood red hull.

"Queen Anne’s Revenge"

“How could you possibly know that?” I whispered hoarsely to myself. To the sword.

"I know more than you'd think. You don't think a cursed sword wasn't passed around to a few pirates? You weren't my first." The sword snarked. "That ship holds almost as much rage and hatred as I do. We should kill them and take it for ourselves."

“I’m not stealing a pirate ship.” I told it.

Mulling about the deck there was at least twenty more black clad burly men. Strangely enough, as I got closer, I realized they all looked exactly the same. Each one was brownish grey and faceless. Where their face should have been was a Hebrew word that read 'Golem'.

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"Disappointing. They don’t bleed and technically don’t die. I suppose you could simply kill that yappy one."

They almost had the sarcophagus to the boat. Anders had sent me to simply observe and report, but I had a feeling that if they got away, we wouldn't see that sarcophagus again.

“I’m outnumbered.” I said to the sword, counting up the Golem mulling about absently.

"Not with me you aren’t."

“This is supposed to be a recon mission. I promised Anders.”

"It doesn’t have to be. Killing them would be much more effective. Besides…"

“I’m not stealing the pirate ship.” I told the sword with finality.

"Suit yourself."

I took a deep breath and held it in. I closed my eyes tightly as I wrapped my hand around the hilt of Tyrfing.

The sound it makes as I draw it from its sheath is like a thousand souls screaming in agony. I’m flooded with rage.

The Golem simply crumbled when struck hard enough. It took a few hits, but all of the ones holding the ancient artifact fell into piles of clay.

“Holy shit, what the fuck is going on?” The asshole from before poked his head out from the captain's quarters of the ship. The sarcophagus now sat on the ground between me and him, on the gangway leading up to the ship.

“Who the fuck are you?” He called, come out to the rail, with all his swagger and bravado.

"I am rage incarnate." Tyrfing responded in my head.

I felt the pull of the blade. Someone had to die now so that it could be sated and so it would let go of its hold on me. I leapt over the sarcophagus, my adrenaline pumping. I could hear the Golem moving across the deck, lining up to intercept me.

One down. Five down. Twelve.

I struggled to keep out from under the heavy punches of the monstrous creatures. I ducked and weaved under a blow, only to be clipped in the face by another. I leapt onto the rail to dodge a tackling Golem, who plummeted into the harbour and turned to mud. I was pushed back down shortly after by another.

Growling in frustration, I turn to look at the punk ass kid and move towards him. I gripped the blade with two hands, ignoring my broken rib and possibly my broken jaw. Tyrfing needed blood. I charge the group of Golem between me and him, tearing through the first two. Two more took their place quickly and pushed me back. Before I knew it, I’m backed against the sarcophagus on the dock.

I became so busy with the Golem, I didn’t notice the ship pulling away until it was too far out for me to do anything about it. The remaining Golem continued to pommel me. I’m crushed by their combined weight.

"Enough!" The scream is a primal roar; a mixture of both Tyrfing and my own voice. My broken jaw throbbed.

I began to move so fast that my flesh stung and my muscles burned. I felt my control over the cursed blade slipping. I felt all the mental and magic barriers in place coming down.

The Golems fell into a heap of broken clay. Panting, I leaned on the blade. I dripped sweat, blood, something else that might have been mud. The Artifact was secure at the least and I sighed.

“Hey, what are you doing over there? Stop!” The security guard flicked his little flashlight my way. I froze, hoping he would walk away. I could only imagine what he saw when he looked at me; hunched over, dripping with my own blood. How was he supposed to know I was the only victim? How do I explain to this man that a moment ago I was fighting clay monsters. I could feel Tyrfing's excitement.

“You can’t be back here. You’re going to have to come with me.” He was polite and formal. Maybe he wasn't as much of a lazy ass as I had assumed. He was a short, balding man, probably in his late fifties.

“I’m so sorry.” I whispered.

“That's okay son, we all make mistakes. Let me just get you outta here and we won't have to call the police." He said.

Tyrfing moved my body for me. I got close to the guard and he moved for his sidearm. But he had barely undone the holster before I’ve vaulted over the sarcophagus.

“Gods, I’m so sorry.” I said again, feeling awful for what was about to happen. I was in the car, but I was no longer driving.

Tyrfing plunged into the man’s gut and I gripped his shoulder, for support, for comfort. Perhaps for control.

I felt the sword drinking his life essence. His viscera, his blood, his soul. The light left his eyes quickly, but the horror on his face remained.

Sated, the rage of the blade dissipated and Tyrfing dematerialized.

I began to feel the pain from fighting the Golems. The adrenaline and Tyrfing's power were gone and I put my back against the sarcophagus, coughing up blood. I pulled out the phone Anders had given me.

“Call me whenever. I’m here if you need me.” He had said. I muttered the words as I hit the speed dial. I made sure to switch on the GPS, just in case.

“Hello, Chase? Chase are you okay?” He knew I wouldn't call unless it was an emergency.

“Harbor front. Artifact secure. Requesting evac. Man down.” My jaw hurt to move and my words came out slurred.

“On its way. Are you alright?” He sounded panicked.

“Queen Anne’s Revenge. Full of Golem.” I'm couldn't managed anymore words.

“I’ll send someone.” He said. I don't know if he said anything else, cause I couldn't hold my arm up to my ear anymore. I dropped the phone beside me and looked over at the security guard and shook my head. I Leaned my head back and closed my eyes.

The terror on his face doesn't leave me.

But his fear was delicious