A Matter of Temperance (The Adventures of Ichabod Temperance Book 1) Read Online Free PDF

going into a frenzy, stabbing the foul, armoured, larva.
    Again, my weapon has no effect. The knife passes through the chitinous plate like air.
    The paramount parasite is bent on devouring this poor girl, and there ain’t nothing I can do to stop it!
    The disgusting, mouth/nozzle of the oversized demon prawn begins to apply a terrible suction towards the poor girl. I stab again and again without effect. In fact, it’s my hand, not the hilt of my Bowie, making contact with the beast. I’m gonna drop the knife and punch him. Ow, that hurt. I’m gonna jump off and give him a kick!
    “I felt it! That was a good lick! All right, big boy, there’s more where that came from! Un, unh, unh! How do you like them apples?! Uh oh, I guess I got what I wanted. You have turned from the girl to me.”
    My blood runs cold and an icy hand of fear clutches my heart filling it with a nameless dread as thousands of fractal eyes focus upon me. I can feel an inhuman intelligence push itself into my mind and I almost lose heart.
    It springs! Either I am lucky, or just blessed with good self-preservation instincts, but I am able to roll out of the way of the leech’s launch. The creature twists after me as quickly as I can scramble away. Scrabbling to stay ahead, I get to my feet and run. It is on my heels. Zig-zag, jump, dodge, bounding over deck chairs, the filthy, leggy larva is just at the back of my calves. Vaulting into a gazebo at full tilt the monster is my shadow. I aim low diving under the rail and the 500 pound leech passes over my head. I barely get to my feet when the monster has already turned on me. I leapfrog the charging beast in a grotesque version of the way children play. I grab hold of something growing from the beast’s back as is passes between my legs mid-leap. Could it be hair, or a prehensile horn? I don’t know what I have a hold of, but despite the flip following the leap, I hang on tight.
    It is a dang sight safer riding on this monster’s back than having it nipping at my fanny.
    This monster is mad and full of fight. It’s twisting and turning in a full on frenzy! Now it’s chasing its tail like a dog, but it can’t get to me on its back. It tries to squish me with a ‘gator roll, but I ain’t having it. I’m sticking to this Hellish armadillo like a Tennessee tick.
    Now it's making a break. Man, oh man, does this buggy have some busy legs. I put him at somewhere abouts halfway to qualifying as a millipede. I can't help but watch in fascination as waves seemingly pass through the coordinated centipede stampede.
    After a tour around the park we hit upon a lane towards the entrance of St. James. We are causing quite a stir at this point. Some boys take up a pursuit. They can almost keep up. Hey, they cannot see the creature, just me floating over the ground by about five feet and traveling faster than they can run. They must think I am flying!
    My invisible stallion carries me out of St. James Park and into the crowded street, Birdcage Walk. The traffic consists of many fancy carriages carrying fashionable folks to evening dinners and sophisticated theater. Every horse on the ridiculously named thoroughfare begins to scream and panic. No driver can control his terrified horse for even if they cannot see it, every animal knows there is an abomination on that street. Nothing will keep them there. After several indecisive spins, my own horrid mount turns toward the river. All the carriages, carts, four-wheelers and hansoms are backed up at Great George Street. My worm and I smash full tilt into a gorgeous hansom, exploding the two wheeled carriage into splinters. I fall from my steed and my goggles are knocked loose. I can no longer see the monster! I scramble for my ‘Beauties’, getting them back on in time to see the creature rise up and leap upon me. I barely get my hands to its ugly face to keep that disgusting sucker/mouth from clamping on my head.
    My legs are outnumbered. As I try to kick them away,