Under the Sunlight

Chapter 17

The truth will set you free.

Jacob Stone was strongly considering getting that tattooed across his arm as a reminder. The years he'd spent lying to everyone around him, including himself, had led to this terrible day. But as awful and horrible as this day was, he had a feeling that on the other side was a whole new life for him. But first he had to get out of this cage.

His truth was in part an apology to Cassandra, Ezekiel's lone truth was eye opening and humorous. Then Cassandra admitted she'd decided on a day when she'd die. Her truth didn't include whether or not she'd actually go through with it, just that she'd once made the decision. His apology seemed inadequate and he wasn't sure what he was apologizing for. Mostly for putting her in the position where she had to share that with them.

But her face shone with strength when she said that day was not today. She was all business and they had a job to do. And it was time he did his job too. He was a Librarian not Jake Stone and it was time for him to prove it.

He'd left Cassandra and Ezekiel behind to keep the door open and went in search of the trickster god.

He found his dad's crew setting up to blow up the hole. Cassandra's words echoed in his head: he's gonna want that hole destroyed.

"Hey, what are you doing?" he asked Andy.

"Your dad says we're blasting the hole."

Hoklonote. Pretending to be my father.

At first he wasn't certain. Couldn't be certain. There was no real difference in attitude between his father and the trickster, not like how he could now tell the difference if the thing was impersonating Jones or Cassandra. If you told the truth, Hoklonote was powerless against you.

Either way, it was time. He wasn't Jake any longer. He was Jacob: art historian, Librarian, father. Now he was going to embrace who he really was. So he told the man in front of him, father or trickster, the truth. About how he was a genius, how he spoke nine languages and understood more, about his work in the art world and about how he never wanted the family business.

Then he apologized for never having the guts to tell him.

"You are my son. And I love you." Then Jacob felt himself being pulled into an embrace. For one moment, just one moment, he took the comfort, the words he'd never heard from his father. Shed a tear or two for that scared kid he'd once been and became the Librarian he now was.

"My father would die before he ever told me that." He grabbed Hoklonote and dove into the pit.

Blasted thing morphed right into Cassandra, mocking him for his weakness and hell if he did have a weakness as it's fist connected with his face. But it's arrogance caused it to morph into Ezekiel, whom Jacob had no trouble laying flat.

It was surreal fighting himself. But then again, he reflected as he took another punch and the trickster continued to mock him, he'd been fighting himself since he'd gotten to Oklahoma that day. Tell the truth, he told himself as Hoklonote mentioned all of his lies, all of his aliases. He'd been fighting himself since he was a child. From the day he'd realized who he really was and how it didn't fit into what everyone else had expected out of him. Tell the damn truth. Finish this cursed thing.

"I'm afraid," he yelled. "I'm afraid to use my real name!" Jacob could see the truth weakening his double. "Because then I can't pretend it's my father's fault anymore."

A punch sent the other Stone backwards and Jacob continued. "I could live with being a failure in my old life. But I was too afraid to be a failure in my new one. Afraid of letting my son down. Afraid of letting my girl down like I let down my wife."