Read Online From Heaven To Earth (The Faith of the Fallen) by Sherrod Wall - Free Book Online Page A

hide it.”
    Greg laughed, and it took over a minute for him to calm himself.
    “His virginity is not funny, man,” Gerald said. “When did you get your
first bedroom groove on, huh? And I’m not talkin’ the late night Internet
cha-cha.”
    Greg coughed and opened his mouth to speak.
    “Our drinks had better be on the house tonight, Greg,” Gerald interrupted.
“Otherwise your boss will hear of this.”
    “Um. Of course, sir, of course,” Greg said. He took Gerald’s mug,
refilled it and set it back in front of him.
    “That’s more like it!” Gerald said.
    “You were talking about this establishment?” Drean asked Greg.
    “Right, ok. This section of The Circ is devoted to medieval and Gothic
cultures.”
    “Gerald told me that.”
    “This pub is a good example of both. Look at the detail in the
woodcarving. Below you for example.”
    Drean saw a carving of a crescent moon on the wood under the bar.
    “Toward the middle, you will see a large cross, and on the right side of
the pub is a sun with a human face,” Greg continued.
    Drean tried to see around the legs of humans to the right of him and
caught a glimpse of the cross.
    “If you look at each corner of the room, you’ll see columns carved into
the stone wall.”
    Drean looked at the corner to his left, followed it up to the top and
stopped when he reached where it connected with the ceiling. Its top resembled
curved flower petals. Drean marveled at this.
    “Yeah, the owner really knew how to put this place together,” Greg said
when he saw Drean’s reaction. “But the best part is the ceiling. I stared at it
for hours when I first started working here.”
    Drean turned around in his barstool, looked up at the domed ceiling and
nearly fell over.
    Stone dividers carved to look like leafy vines, extended from the four
corners of the room and separated the ceiling into four paintings.
    Above Drean, a full moon’s light shone from a clear night sky, and
reflected off the black steel full-helmet of a knight. His blue eyes stared
through small slits of the armor.
    The knight’s interest was fixed upon a woman’s head which was draped in
snow-covered black furs and to the right of him. Wisps of long black hair
curtained her face. Moonlight caught her amber eyes and glistened on the dark
skin of her face as she stared upwards into a winter’s night.
    Below her, an autumn morning wind blew fallen leaves into the flowing
blond hair of a green-eyed slender woman. Dawn’s sunlight reflected from her
fair skin.
    She gazed longingly at a man on her left that shared her features. A sun
grinned behind his head in a cloudless sky.
      At the ceiling’s center a
stone flower blossomed, its petals breaching each of the painting’s borders.
    “Amazing isn’t it?” Greg asked.
    Drean did not even hear him.
    These humans are wonderful creatures, Drean thought. I had no
idea they were capable of producing beauty such as this.
    “Well, it was nice meeting you, Drean. I’ll leave the two of you to your
drinks while I help these other customers.”
    Greg shook his head and walked away.
    “I’m sorry about that guy, Drean,” Gerald said.
    “No, it’s fine. He was really helpful.” Drean smiled at the fallen angel.
    “Yeah. I guess if he didn’t know anything he wouldn’t work here.” Gerald
frowned in Greg’s direction. “Have you tried any of your beer yet?”
    “My beer? Is that what this is?” Drean pointed at his mug.
    “Yep,” Gerald said. “You haven’t touched it!”
    “Sorry, I guess I didn’t know what to do with it,” Drean said when he
heard the dismay in Gerald’s tone. “What is it?”
    “It’s what keeps these humans sane,” Gerald answered. “They come here
with problems in their hearts and rely on these drinks to wash them away.”
    “But what do they have to be sad about? Look at the place where they
live... this world, it is so beautiful.”
    Gerald took a swig from his mug. “Yes, Drean, but they are imperfect.”