A Matter of Temperance (The Adventures of Ichabod Temperance Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page B
Author: Ichabod Temperance
the many legs of my fiendish foe catch my own pair. The legs seem to ripple, as each leg begins to move just after the previous one did, with machine-like efficiency, and in this manner, the knitting appendages propel me towards the intake chute.
I cannot allow it to bite me!
I kick and fight for all I am worth but cannot release my grip lest I feel those awful teeth. I catch and isolate the last of the creature’s forelegs with my feet. I get it locked out against its own joint, and then kick. One insect leg does not work with mechanical efficiency anymore, since it is at a right angle to the others. The mammoth roly poly shrieks in an unspeakable rage. Risking the release of one hand from the creature’s face, I tear the stricken limb from this hungry HellSpawn. With all the strength of a man who would not be a meal, I plunge the serrated, chitinous limb as far into the alien cranium as my arm will reach.
Succumbing to a violent series of tremors, the beast shudders with a few last death throes, before expiring with insectile ignominy.
Chapter 12 - Aftermath at the Queen’s Hotel.
Persephone
Blind with tears and half out of my wits, I stumble away from the ravenous horror. I have to get away from the repulsive segmented worm. I fear for the gallant cavalier that came to my rescue, but I am too done in to help the man. I feel a craven sense of cowardice for the relief I feel when that horrible consciousness is turned from myself to that unwitting victim.
Though blinded by fear and emotion, I manage to stagger out the North end of St. James.
My heart breaks again as I hear scores of horses go mad with terror on the far side of the Park. The hands of kind strangers catch me as I slump to the ground.
Helpful young gentlemen assist me in gaining conveyance back to the Queen’s Hotel. The streets are congested with onlookers trying to discover the source of the troubles wrought by the brain-fevered horses. General confusion and disarray make for a slow and tedious ride through a crowded throng. Many carriages are damaged, and the horses still nervous, but the disturbances seem to have subsided. I catch snatches of conversation moving through the crowded street. No one knows why, but every horse on BirdCage Walk, for a few moments, went mad with terror.
I overhear snatches of rumour that some claim to have seen, momentarily, a monster of some kind. Two young boys claim to have seen a flying man, wearing goggles that “glowed like two, small, green lanterns.”
When I arrive back at my hotel, I find it a sombre shambles. The front doors are smashed, the lobby is in disarray, and the dining room, along with the kitchens, are nearly destroyed. Yet it is grief over the death of their beloved, gentlemanly old doorman that has overcome the hotel staff. I am simultaneously relieved and ashamed, that no one realizes I am to blame.
Chapter 13 – A Cup of Tea.
Ichabod
I fall back in exhaustion, disentangling myself from the hated legs of the creature. The unnatural glow of the worm subsides, and simultaneously, the shocked faces of those around me show recognition of the dead leech. It’s interesting that, although it was invisible in life, apparently, all can observe it in death.
I remove my goggles, momentarily blind as my eyes adjust to the change in the light conditions, but there lies the horror. The monstrous beast is now visible, but gets noticed by only a few people as Birdcage Walk is a shambles. Every hat, purse, fan, and corsage that was present now blankets the street. The wreckage of smashed carriages and misused citizenry litters the scene. The horses are still trying to climb over one another to vacate the premises.
A steam begins to rise from the worm. Cracks appear in its shell, and then widen. The foul crayfish is dissolving before my eyes. A thought strikes me. Once again, I find myself following my instincts before I have a chance to think about my actions. Spotting a miraculously unbroken bottle of
I cannot allow it to bite me!
I kick and fight for all I am worth but cannot release my grip lest I feel those awful teeth. I catch and isolate the last of the creature’s forelegs with my feet. I get it locked out against its own joint, and then kick. One insect leg does not work with mechanical efficiency anymore, since it is at a right angle to the others. The mammoth roly poly shrieks in an unspeakable rage. Risking the release of one hand from the creature’s face, I tear the stricken limb from this hungry HellSpawn. With all the strength of a man who would not be a meal, I plunge the serrated, chitinous limb as far into the alien cranium as my arm will reach.
Succumbing to a violent series of tremors, the beast shudders with a few last death throes, before expiring with insectile ignominy.
Chapter 12 - Aftermath at the Queen’s Hotel.
Persephone
Blind with tears and half out of my wits, I stumble away from the ravenous horror. I have to get away from the repulsive segmented worm. I fear for the gallant cavalier that came to my rescue, but I am too done in to help the man. I feel a craven sense of cowardice for the relief I feel when that horrible consciousness is turned from myself to that unwitting victim.
Though blinded by fear and emotion, I manage to stagger out the North end of St. James.
My heart breaks again as I hear scores of horses go mad with terror on the far side of the Park. The hands of kind strangers catch me as I slump to the ground.
Helpful young gentlemen assist me in gaining conveyance back to the Queen’s Hotel. The streets are congested with onlookers trying to discover the source of the troubles wrought by the brain-fevered horses. General confusion and disarray make for a slow and tedious ride through a crowded throng. Many carriages are damaged, and the horses still nervous, but the disturbances seem to have subsided. I catch snatches of conversation moving through the crowded street. No one knows why, but every horse on BirdCage Walk, for a few moments, went mad with terror.
I overhear snatches of rumour that some claim to have seen, momentarily, a monster of some kind. Two young boys claim to have seen a flying man, wearing goggles that “glowed like two, small, green lanterns.”
When I arrive back at my hotel, I find it a sombre shambles. The front doors are smashed, the lobby is in disarray, and the dining room, along with the kitchens, are nearly destroyed. Yet it is grief over the death of their beloved, gentlemanly old doorman that has overcome the hotel staff. I am simultaneously relieved and ashamed, that no one realizes I am to blame.
Chapter 13 – A Cup of Tea.
Ichabod
I fall back in exhaustion, disentangling myself from the hated legs of the creature. The unnatural glow of the worm subsides, and simultaneously, the shocked faces of those around me show recognition of the dead leech. It’s interesting that, although it was invisible in life, apparently, all can observe it in death.
I remove my goggles, momentarily blind as my eyes adjust to the change in the light conditions, but there lies the horror. The monstrous beast is now visible, but gets noticed by only a few people as Birdcage Walk is a shambles. Every hat, purse, fan, and corsage that was present now blankets the street. The wreckage of smashed carriages and misused citizenry litters the scene. The horses are still trying to climb over one another to vacate the premises.
A steam begins to rise from the worm. Cracks appear in its shell, and then widen. The foul crayfish is dissolving before my eyes. A thought strikes me. Once again, I find myself following my instincts before I have a chance to think about my actions. Spotting a miraculously unbroken bottle of
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