Read Online Make Me Whole by Marguerite Labbe - Free Book Online
Authors: Marguerite Labbe
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not have such thoughts. He spun on his heel to head back to the office, and Galen fell into step beside him.
“The quick version of the myth is that Dexios, the solo man in the statues, was in love with a fellow soldier, Lykon. They pledged their fidelity to each other, but when the campaign ended, Lykon broke his promise so he could return to his old life and left Dexios behind. Heartbroken, Dexios went to the island they had planned to make their home and gave in to despair. The goddess of love heard him and, out of pity, changed him into a statue to wait for his fickle lover.”
“The goddess of love, hmmm? You mean Aphrodite? I’d hoped this tale would be grounded in a little more truth,” Galen said as they climbed the spiral staircase up through the tower.
“You wanted to hear the story. You didn’t say anything about truth.” Nick sat down and picked up his coffee again. He grimaced as he took a taste. It had gone lukewarm. “Unless something happened last night to make you think there was more to the statues than pieces of art. Belief is power, and the names of gods and goddesses change with the people who follow them. It doesn’t mean that the spirit doesn’t exist.”
“Let’s not argue philosophy. What happened next?”
“At some point, Lykon returned looking for Dexios and instead found the four statues of him. The goddess appeared and cursed him to be reborn over and over, searching for his lost love and unable to have him.”
Nick leaned back and folded his hands on his stomach as Galen shifted with a frown. “You mean there isn’t anything in there about the statues becoming whole?” he asked.
Nick waged a fierce inner debate over whether to tell him more and decided that if Galen were going to continue to hold out about what happened the night before, Nick wouldn’t spill all of his secrets either. He had a lot he wanted to consider before he let Galen in more.
“There’s a whole body of research on them that I haven’t delved into for a while. The answers should be there. You see, the statues are more than an area of study for me—it’s family history. The Dexios Collection belongs to the Charisteas family, and I have the paperwork to prove it.”
He waited for that to sink in, for Galen to realize he could snatch possession of them right from him. Galen’s eyes widened, and when he opened his mouth, Nick held up a hand to stop him. “I have a number of journals from past family members that pertain to the Collection. Most are in Greek, but my uncle’s mentions, on occasion, some of the statues changing like yours did. It never went beyond three, and they always reverted back to only Dexios.”
Nick considered telling Galen that the other journals backed that up, but decided not to. He didn’t want to reveal how much information he had just yet. Not until he knew what Galen was going to do. He didn’t want to get any more invested in opening doors with Galen than he already was.
“The belief is that when all of the statues are made whole, the lost lovers will be reunited. I’ll admit the family has always been rather split on whether or not the statues really changed. Most seemed to think the men who came up with the tale enjoyed a little too much opium, or whatever their personal recreational drug choice was at that time.”
Galen turned his head and stared out the window. Nick studied his profile in the silence. He used to kiss the long bridge of Galen’s nose when they lay spent in each other’s arms. He wondered if Galen remembered the little things like that.
Galen turned back toward him and leaned forward. “Which are you, Nick? Are you a believer?”
“Let’s just say, I’ve always wanted to believe.” Nick paused and leaned forward too. “I had a dream about you last night, of you kissing a man in Greek armor who you called Dexios. If you want to keep these statues as part of the exhibit, you will have to tell me what happened between the time you left
“The quick version of the myth is that Dexios, the solo man in the statues, was in love with a fellow soldier, Lykon. They pledged their fidelity to each other, but when the campaign ended, Lykon broke his promise so he could return to his old life and left Dexios behind. Heartbroken, Dexios went to the island they had planned to make their home and gave in to despair. The goddess of love heard him and, out of pity, changed him into a statue to wait for his fickle lover.”
“The goddess of love, hmmm? You mean Aphrodite? I’d hoped this tale would be grounded in a little more truth,” Galen said as they climbed the spiral staircase up through the tower.
“You wanted to hear the story. You didn’t say anything about truth.” Nick sat down and picked up his coffee again. He grimaced as he took a taste. It had gone lukewarm. “Unless something happened last night to make you think there was more to the statues than pieces of art. Belief is power, and the names of gods and goddesses change with the people who follow them. It doesn’t mean that the spirit doesn’t exist.”
“Let’s not argue philosophy. What happened next?”
“At some point, Lykon returned looking for Dexios and instead found the four statues of him. The goddess appeared and cursed him to be reborn over and over, searching for his lost love and unable to have him.”
Nick leaned back and folded his hands on his stomach as Galen shifted with a frown. “You mean there isn’t anything in there about the statues becoming whole?” he asked.
Nick waged a fierce inner debate over whether to tell him more and decided that if Galen were going to continue to hold out about what happened the night before, Nick wouldn’t spill all of his secrets either. He had a lot he wanted to consider before he let Galen in more.
“There’s a whole body of research on them that I haven’t delved into for a while. The answers should be there. You see, the statues are more than an area of study for me—it’s family history. The Dexios Collection belongs to the Charisteas family, and I have the paperwork to prove it.”
He waited for that to sink in, for Galen to realize he could snatch possession of them right from him. Galen’s eyes widened, and when he opened his mouth, Nick held up a hand to stop him. “I have a number of journals from past family members that pertain to the Collection. Most are in Greek, but my uncle’s mentions, on occasion, some of the statues changing like yours did. It never went beyond three, and they always reverted back to only Dexios.”
Nick considered telling Galen that the other journals backed that up, but decided not to. He didn’t want to reveal how much information he had just yet. Not until he knew what Galen was going to do. He didn’t want to get any more invested in opening doors with Galen than he already was.
“The belief is that when all of the statues are made whole, the lost lovers will be reunited. I’ll admit the family has always been rather split on whether or not the statues really changed. Most seemed to think the men who came up with the tale enjoyed a little too much opium, or whatever their personal recreational drug choice was at that time.”
Galen turned his head and stared out the window. Nick studied his profile in the silence. He used to kiss the long bridge of Galen’s nose when they lay spent in each other’s arms. He wondered if Galen remembered the little things like that.
Galen turned back toward him and leaned forward. “Which are you, Nick? Are you a believer?”
“Let’s just say, I’ve always wanted to believe.” Nick paused and leaned forward too. “I had a dream about you last night, of you kissing a man in Greek armor who you called Dexios. If you want to keep these statues as part of the exhibit, you will have to tell me what happened between the time you left
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