Heretics book 3 - The Apocryphile Press

THE KINGDOM :: 83
She slipped into one of the empty chairs on her left, and
raised her head at Mikael’s nod of greeting. The friars were
singing a chant in what seemed to be Latin. She found the
music relaxing, and was surprised to find she felt warm and
at home.
On the wall that faced her she noticed an enormous collage
that almost dominated the room. It was the face of
Jesus, looking odd and almost deformed. As she looked closer
she saw that his face was an impressionistic collage of
many photos, most of them, it seemed, cut from magazines.
His left eye was definitely the dark and almond shape of
someone from the east; his nose, exaggeratedly Semitic, was
made up of a sandy beach scene; his mouth was framed by a
dark and curly beard made out of a picture of a large black
poodle. His right ear was lily-white and delicate, like a
child’s or that of a petite woman. A hundred scenes, creatures,
and faces seemed to have been pilfered to form this
one face.
Kat couldn’t decide if the Frankensteinian icon was horrible
or beautiful, but then she noted with a start the words
that hung above it. Cut from large capital letters of many different
fonts, the banner read, ”THIS MAN EATS WITH
FUCKUPS AND SINNERS.”
In spite of herself, a sob arose from deep within her and
threatened to spill out into the quiet air. She choked it back
and wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand. What was
that all about? she thought, embarrassed, hoping none of the
friars had noticed her rush of emotion. If they had, they didn’t
show it. They kept up their chant until it trailed to a natural
end.
Then Mikael rose, reverenced the altar with a brief bow,
and removing a snuffer from its hook at the side of the altar,
extinguished the candles.
“God is great, God is neat. Good God! Let’s eat!”
announced Dylan, heading for the kitchen.