Battle Wounds || Jasper Hale {2}

Chapter 22

"What do you think you're doing? It's broad daylight."

Harmon had taken it upon himself to complain as Felicity glanced around the corner of the hallway to make sure the coast was clear. Ellie still wasn't sure what was going on, but whatever it was had set the sandy haired emissary in a frenzy.

"Be quiet," Felicity scolded, narrowing her eyes at him and offering a hand to both Harmon and Ellie. "Take my hands."

"What?" Harmon asked. "Why?"

"Because you won't shut up," she huffed. "If you're worried because it's daylight, take my hands."

Ellie shrugged and grasped ahold of the girl. "If it's not going to get me in any more trouble, I'm game."

Harmon frowned but took Felicity's hand anyway. "You're lucky I like you."

"Not as lucky as you are that she likes you," Ellie grinned, a sparkle twinkling in her green eyes. She enjoyed picking at Harmon, even if things had gotten easier between them since he had insisted he wouldn't lead her wrong. It just felt right to tease him.

"Touché," he said, his head bobbing ever so slightly.

"Will you both shut up?" Felicity snapped. "You're going to get us caught."

Ellie and Harmon both snapped their mouths shut and followed Felicity's advice, knowing that neither of them could afford to get in any more trouble.

It was only a moment before Ellie felt a tingling sensation traveling up the length of her arms and spreading across her whole body. She looked down at her body, catching it disappear and then promptly reappear in her vision.

"Whoa," she murmured, her mouth opening in a perfect oval before a grin lit her face. "This is so cool!"

"Shhh!" Felicity grinned, giving a peek of her dimples as a giggle slipped past her pink lips. "We have to be quiet."

"So we're invisible right now?" Harmon asked, looking at his arms in awe.

Felicity nodded before pulling the two of them behind her.

As they quietly shuffled down the corridor, Ellie finally recognized where Felicity was taking her. The restricted hallway. She was finally going to get some answers about what they didn't want her to know.

"We still really don't need to be doing this," Harmon whispered, his eyes shifting at every sound. "It's restricted for a reason."

"We're going to find out what's down that hallway, no matter what," Felicity replied, shooting her tether a look and stopping in front of the first door. "Now you can join us or you can go. I won't make you do this if you don't want to, but Ellie and I are going to see what they're hiding."

Ellie nodded, feeling a surge of mixed emotions bubbling beneath her skin. Was she ready to see what was behind these doors? Would she ever be ready to submerge herself in all of their secrets? Narrowing her eyes, she nodded. She was supposed to do this. It was meant for her. She looked at her two friends before placing a hand on the door knob. "Are you ready?"

Harmon released a puff of air. They were going to do this anyway. He shrugged. Might as well find out what else they hiding from them.

The first room in the hall was dimly lit at first glance, but brightened the farther they stepped into the circular area. Books lined every available space on the wall, and Ellie could smell the familiar scent of old paper. A smile curled her lips. She couldn't think of any place more comforting than a library, and that's just what they had found: a secret library.

She stepped toward the closest shelf of books and brushed her long fingers across their spines.

Witch's Guide to Curses
Why Dolphins are Smarter than You: So Long and Thanks for all the Fish!
Weather the Weather: An Emissary's Guide to Weather Wielders

"Uh... Guys?" Felicity's voice broke through her search, her light tone calling out warily. "You might wanna see this."

Ellie crossed to the other side of the room, Harmon ahead of her by a few feet, to meet the dark haired emissary in the second section of books.

Felicity's shaking hands were holding a worn, black book, and Ellie swore she could taste the dark magic wafting off of it.

"What is it?" Harmon asked, his arms crossed and his expression carrying a hefty warning. He eyed the book with such a look that Ellie could tell it was going to cause trouble for them.

Ellie leaned closer to read the title.

Blood Wars: The End of Society as We Know It

The author name was blurred out, only an "A" remaining.

"Well," she muttered, feeling the air tightening around them. A shudder rippled down her spine. "This can't be good."

"It's probably just a book," Harmon cut in, trying to make the situation better. "Just some conspiracy theorist trying to spook people."

"You think?" Felicity asked, her worried eyes finding his.

Yes," he said, his tone wobbling so slightly that Ellie would have missed it had she not been paying close attention. He cleared his throat. "Why don't we move on to the next room? This old library just isn't my scene."

Ellie nodded, but she wouldn't forget this. Something deep inside of her told her that it wasn't just a book. It was more. Much more than they were prepared to handle.

Sneaking back out into the hallway, the trio quietly made their way to the second room, only to find an empty bedroom. Shrugging it off, they closed the door and made their way to the final room at the end of the hall.

It was a bright room, lined with florescent lights from one end of the ceiling to the other. File cabinets stood tall in six rows following the length of the room, each with a letter lining it's drawers, leading up to a large mahogany wardrobe in the middle of the back wall.

"I wonder what all these cabinets have in them," Felicity questioned, her eyes raking up and down each row.

Harmon's eyes were fixated on the wardrobe in the back as he spoke, "It's probably just our files."

Ellie shrugged, taking him at his word. He had practically been there since birth after all.

Felicity threw a large grin at Harmon, "I'm definitely looking at your file."

He shrugged, allowing a smirk to tilt his lips, "As long as I get to look at yours."

The trio went their separate ways in the bright file room. Felicity made a beeline to the "C" cabinet, and Harmon sifted through the "K" cabinet while Ellie just wanted to see what her own file held in it. Not thinking anything of it, she began search through the lower drawers of the "D" cabinet for her file. She looked for a few moments, not finding anything before Felicity's voice spoke from the cabinet next to her.

"Ellie," she said, eyebrows knitted tightly together. A gigantic file folder in her hands. "Why is your name in this cabinet."

It was then that Ellie realized they had filed her by her birth name and not by her legal name.

There in large black letters read, "Eleanor V. Cartwright-DuPree."