A Matter of Temperance (The Adventures of Ichabod Temperance Book 1) (25 page)

Ichabod
.

“He comes!” roars Doktor Himmel. “Grovel, you worms!”

It has gotten darker. Many stars are not showing because there is a big square of blackness in the sky. Somehow, the blackness appears to have depth. I think it is an opening, like a window, but inconceivably immense. There is something up there. I think it is akin to the Kraken, but on an entirely different scale. Something awful is coming into our world, something of mind-boggling enormity.

“Fire on that abomination!” commands Miss Plumtartt.

The Gigantor Voltage Disruptors swing their massive cones upwards to fling their far-flung destructive electrical bolts. They arc ever higher until they are able to aim at the thing in the night sky. The abomination is almost impossible for the human crews to bear to look upon. The Tibetan monks give the soldiers the intestinal fortitude to stay with their difficult task. The major batteries open fire.

Smaller weapon units take up the slack where the big guns have altered their targeting. These seasoned troops prevail, where any other human army would balk.

The Gigantor units emit blasts of unbelievable energies, yet they are but tiny pinpricks against the hideous horror. They will not stop the inter-dimensional Conquerer.

With the big Disruptors’ targeting change, the field of battle’s dynamic changes. Slowly, the creatures of Earth’s destruction begin to gain the upper hand. Huge blasts of green energies strike from the Great Beast above our heads. The monster is destroying our Gigantor units! The tide of battle turns against us.

I see Miss Plumtartt holding a translucent white orb up into the air. It’s the Pearl! Does every man and beast gasp? Somehow, a ripple flows through the scene of battle as each person notices the shining pearl.

This draws the attention of the incomprehensible horror above our heads, making it aware of Miss Plumtartt.

With a powerful green beam of energy, the uninvited guest to our fair dimension rudely assaults the Maiden of Destruction. She is momentarily staggered, but quickly rallies. The Pearl, held high above her head, absorbs the pulsating ray emanating from the horrible thing in the sky. Atta girl! It’s working!

Herr Himmel’s bug-eyed face jerks back and forth between the two combatants.

“Nein! Fraulein!” roars the treacherous German. He thrusts out an especially long tentacle. He grasps her tender ankle!

“Miss Plumtartt!” She falters!

Her concentration is broken! The Talisman fails!

The Doktor smiles, tightening his repulsive grip. The appendage grasping Miss Plumtartt slowly insinuates itself up her leg.

I scramble up, from where Himmel just turned me loose.

I am on that caddish calamari faster than grease through a goose.

It’s clobbering time for me and the German Octo-Dok.

Miss Plumtartt recovers and is able to re-assert her self-control.

The wondrous Pearl, wielded by one who is equally pure, collects the unclean energies that are blasted at our beautiful heroine by the Unknowable Abomination. At last it dawns on me why our enemies have tried so hard to divest Miss Plumtartt of her virtue.

The Talisman glows with a warm light and begins to vibrate.

A pulse of bright red light emanates from the natural wonder and expands across the battlefield. Everything stops. Another, brighter, sphere of light pushes out in an ever expanding bubble until ‘popping at the edge of the valley. As soon as one bubble of light expires, another begins. Faster and faster, scarlet balls pulsate outward in successive waves encompassing the frozen plain. Intermittent vertical halos flash outward in brief, electrical, bladal, orbits of red light. With dazzling speed, they illuminate the high plain until reaching a crimson crescendo!

The ‘Orb’ achieves a critical stage.

“At you!” cries the Goddess of War.

H
h
h
ww
w-
W
H
O
O
O
M
M
P
P!

{{{
BO
O
OM
!!!}}}

The Talisman gives a grand release. The spherical bubbles of scarlet energy pulsating from the Talisman focus into a beam of relentless waves to pound the invader back through its inter-dimensional portal, and pummel the doorway shut.

The reflection is a smashing success!

Ichabod

Every creature on the field of battle, human and otherwise alike, has been knocked off their feet by the blast of the Talisman’s reflection of the inter-dimensional horrors deadly green beam. The incomprehensible horror retreats. The perilous portal crumbles in upon itself.

However, Herr Himmel is not yet done. “At least I shall have the pleasure of killing you! You little American bug!”

The big German has got me pinned down, strangling me with his hated tentacles.

He gets kneed in the nether regions.

We roll apart. Himmel looks to me, and then Miss Plumtartt. The Doktor grabs his cane and aims it like a rifle at Miss Plumtartt.

I grab Miss Plumtartt’s parasol and fling it at Himmel.

He gets the point.

- - -

“I believe this belongs to you, Mr. Temperance,” Miss Plumtartt tosses a familiar hat into my lap.

“Yes, Ma’am, I reckon it does, Miss Plumtartt, Ma’am.”

Can this be real? I am unsure, until she helps me to my feet.

I hold the blessed contact of her lovely hands.

I take Persephone in a warm embrace.

This is my happily ever after.

Persephone

My poor bedraggled Ichabod Temperance! To have him in my arms again is more than I could have dreamed. I suspect a slight teasing will ignite the fires of your soul.

“Mr. Temperance, I believe that you have been terribly rude to me, sir.”

“Oh, no, Miss Plumtartt, Ma’am! I wouldn’t never!”

“Oh yes, for as I recall, at our last meeting, you had the temerity to throw me overboard from our ship like a parcel of British rubbish...and then...”

Is that a tiny flicker of a smile on his face?

“And then you made the most amazing statement, but you left abruptly, without giving me a chance to reply. Most intolerably rude, I must say!”

Somewhere in the depths of those hazel eyes, I see merriment, and hope.

“Oh, golly, I’m sorry, Miss Plumtartt, Ma’am.”

“May I make my reply now, Mr. Temperance?”

“Oh, yes, Ma'am, Miss Plumtartt, Ma'am!”

His smile is as broad and open as a boy’s, but infinitely more promising.

“Ichabod Temperance, you silly little fellow, I love you in return.”

“Oh, golly gee whillikers, that’s awfully swell, Miss Plumtartt, Ma’am.”

“Kiss me, you fool.”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

Ichabod, I, and this great blue marble tumbling through space have this Tibetan plateau as our axis.

We are on top of the world.

With this kiss and embrace, I know we shall live
very
happily ever after.

~The reader is asked to look away.~

The End.

Thank you, Dear Reader, for having read our story!

Cheers!

Your pals,

Ichabod and Persephone.

More from the world of Ichabod and Persephone:

The Adventures of Ichabod Temperance

Volume One: ‘A Matter of Temperance’

Volume Two: ‘A World of InTemperance’

Volume Three: ‘For the Love of Temperance’

Volume Four: ‘A Study in Temperance’

Volume Five: ‘In a Latitude of Temperance’

Volume Six: ‘A Measure of Temperance’

Volume Seven: ‘The Seventh Voyage of Temperance’

Volume Eight: ‘The Title of Temperance’

Volume Nine: ‘A Journey of Temperance’

available in print and for Amazon Kindle at Amazon.com and CreateSpace.com