With Fear or Without

27- Why, Why, and Why

"Woah, what happened to you guys?"

When Andy and Charlie finally joined Cleo outside on the path, she did a double take.

They both looked exhausted, as if they had been forced to run laps for an hour. They were both red-faced and sweating, carrying their jackets over their arm or shoulder. Charlie was sporting a large bruise over their left shoulder and they looked angry about it, furious even. Andy seemed to be in a better mood, but she was holding one hand across the side of her ribs, breathing carefully.

"We got our butts handed to us, that's what," Charlie grumbled through gritted teeth.

"What?" Cleo demanded. "By what?"

Andy frowned at her. "We spent the day getting beat up. Guess they thought teaching us to fight in a week was a great idea."

"Fight? Like... with, you know, people?" Cleo cringed at how stupid her question sounded as soon as it left her mouth.

"No, Cleo, we fought the air and we lost," Charlie responded flatly, running a hand through their untidy hair.

"Cleo, what have you been doing?" Andy was frowning deeper now, having noticed the remnants of blood over Cleo's mouth.

Cleo absentmindedly ran a couple fingers over the tender spot on her bottom lip. "It's kind of a story. I'll tell you guys, but I wanna see if I can ask Maedrian some questions before we go." With a sigh, she added, "You know, if we can figure out how to get out of here."

They agreed, with reluctance, to split up. Cleo headed to the main structure of the neighborhood, leaving Charlie and Andy to visit a doctor that they were sent to after their rough training. Seeing them made Cleo wonder who really got the short end of the stick. Her faint gratitude for her own training was just that- faint.

Butterflies beginning to flutter in her stomach, Cleo made her way down the path to those familiar double doors. The new information from the past hours filtered through her head as she started to form coherent questions. She didn't think knocking would be necessary, but when she pulled open the door she immediately regretted it.

"Nolan, I will not ask you again-"

Maedrian Silver stopped short and spun towards Cleo as she stepped over the threshold, the door closing and echoing through the tense air.

Maedrian did not look happy. She brushed her hair out of her face and forced her expression to change from one of frustration and impatience to one of slightly strained welcome.

Nolan looked even less happy than his mom. He pouted, his arms crossed defiantly across his chest. He leaned back, slightly slumped in the desk chair. He stared through the frames of his glasses at the desk as if he was trying to set it on fire.

Cleo got the uncomfortable feeling you get when a friend argues with their parents while you're over.

"Cleo," Maedrian sighed, "wonderful to see you. How was your first day?"

It was obvious she was trying to diffuse the tension in the room, and it wasn't working. Across the room, Nolan's leg bounced up and down rapidly.

"Oh, uh, it was alright," Cleo answered. "Bit frightening, but I guess I should've expected that."

Nolan huffed and scoffed under his breath.

"Yes, I suppose so," Maedrian said, unable to keep the impatience out of her voice as she added, "Is there something you need?"

Cleo almost said no, simply to get out there as quickly as possible, but she forced herself to say, "Yeah actually, I was wondering if I could ask you some questions. Really quick."

Maedrian cleared her throat and smoothed her button up blouse. "Of course. Come with me."

Without even a glance at her son, she strode towards the door on the right wall, holding it open and stepping to the side.

Cleo hesitated, wanting to say something to Nolan, but she figured she was saving him from whatever argument she had walked in on. Plus, there was the fact that he refused to look up.

Stepping through the door Maedrian held open, Cleo entered a small office space. A single, shiny and dark desk stood facing her in the center of the room with a screen mounted on it exactly like the one Remie had used. The only other pieces of furniture were three chairs, one behind the desk and two in front.

Cleo waited until the door clicked behind her and Maedrian made her way around the desk, taking a seat and motioning for Cleo to do the same.

"So, how can I help you?"

She had been thinking all day about how to ask this question without giving too much away. She didn't want to mention her locker if Maedrian didn't know already- and she definitely didn't want to mention Rowana.

"How would you have contacted me if Cassian hadn't?"

Maedrian tilted her head in questions.

"I mean, you said you had your eye on me before, what would you have done?"

Maedrian stayed quiet, studying Cleo calculatingly as if trying to determine just with her eyes how much Cleo really knew- and how much to add. After a long enough time to make Cleo break eye contact and shift uncomfortably, Maedrian laced her fingers together.

"You're asking about the events at your school on Thursday morning."

Cleo blinked. So much for subtlety.

"You're wondering why your locker was destroyed. More specifically, you want to know what was inside."

Cleo couldn't tell if her tone was accusatory or if she was just stating facts. Cleo nodded.

"Well, you may have already guessed this, but a Veil Breaker was in your locker that morning. One of the devices you are helping us retrieve."

That proved Andy's suspicion right. She did learn one thing, though; the circlets were called Veil Breakers. She wanted to ask what it meant, but there were other pressing questions. "But... why? What would giving me that do?"

"The devices have other uses."

Before she could continue, the flat screen on the left half of the desk lit up with white light. Maedrian scooted her chair over to it, ignoring Cleo for a few moments as she read the words on the screen. Cleo couldn't make them out from her spot. She was curious, sure, but she couldn't bring herself to try and read them with Maedrian so close. So she waited.

Maedrian tapped her finger on the screen a couple times before waving her hand over the whole area, causing it to go dark once more. Then she turned her attention back to Cleo as if nothing had interrupted them.

"In addition to allowing humans to see and understand the demons that haunt their dreams," she continued, "the devices allow us to pinpoint Chosen, hence the reason one was placed in your locker."

Cleo began to connect the dots, but a crucial one was still missing. "So you put it there?"

"We did not. That would be the work of Cenilorn Coalition."

"But how did they-"

"I'm really sorry, Cleo," Maedrian said, cutting off the questions. "I wish we could talk longer, but I have some things I have to take care of."

Cleo got the not-so-subtle hint. "Oh, of course, I'm sorry."

"No problem at all. Please don't hesitate to ask any questions you may have another time." She smiled pointedly.

"Thank you," Cleo said, rising from her chair. She stopped with her hand hovering over the handle. Turning around again, she saw Maedrian tapping and swiping at the screen again.

Before she lost her nerve, Cleo asked, "You believe we're doing the right thing here?"

"Absolutely."