Chapter 168: Home Field Advantage
Chapter 168: Home Field Advantage
The brief disturbance inside The Full Moon Lounge ended almost as quickly as it had begun.
Once the two men apologized and left, the room gradually settled back into its previous rhythm. Conversations resumed, soft music filled the gaps between voices, and Cyrus Calder returned to mixing drinks behind the counter as though nothing unusual had happened.
The women sitting along the bar remained exactly where they were.
Helena Baird, Daphne Whitlock, Rhea Maddox, Vera Sable, and now Audra Sloane occupied nearly the entire stretch in front of Cyrus.
Even some customers farther away who had clearly been thinking about approaching him seemed to reconsider. With so many striking women gathered around the same bartender, deciding who to walk past first apparently created its own problem.
Owen Keats and Iris Wexley, sitting closer to the edge of the group, attracted much less attention.
After Cyrus finished several more orders, Iris placed her empty glass on the counter.
"How much do I owe you?"
Cyrus shook his head.
"I’ll cover it this time."
Then he added, "Just keep the fact that I work here private for me."
Owen answered before Iris had the chance.
"You don’t have to worry about that. Iris and I won’t tell anyone."
Cyrus nodded.
"Thanks, I appreciate it."
His eyes moved briefly toward Iris.
Her freckled face revealed very little, though she met his gaze for a moment before looking toward Audra.
"Are you leaving with us?" Iris asked.
Audra shook her head.
"I’ll stay a little longer. We aren’t going in the same direction anyway, so you don’t need to wait for me."
Iris accepted that easily.
Then she looked toward Cyrus.
"In that case, I’ll leave Audra with you."
Cyrus did not hesitate.
"That’s fine with me."
Audra was one of the most important safeguards he currently had.
The glamourkin ring in her possession was one of the few things Cyrus believed might actually help if Isolde found him again. If something happened to Audra now, his own situation would immediately become much worse.
Making sure she got home safely was hardly an inconvenience.
Owen hurriedly finished the last of his milk and stood.
He followed Iris toward the entrance, then turned back before leaving.
"I’ll see you at school."
Cyrus gave him a small wave.
"See you then."
The entrance bell sounded as the two disappeared outside.
𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂
Time passed quietly after that.
By a little after nine, the atmosphere around the bar had become much calmer.
At some point, Rhea and Daphne had also stopped exchanging those strangely polite remarks with each other.
Audra was never especially talkative.
Helena seemed perfectly content to sit in silence as long as Cyrus remained somewhere in front of her.
That left Vera.
Vera looked from one woman to another and gradually lost patience.
At this rate, she could sit here for another three hours and still never see the fight she had been hoping for.
Everyone was far too restrained.
Since nothing exciting seemed likely to happen tonight, Vera decided she might as well wait until something happened later and simply taste the result directly from Cyrus.
Drinking his blood while watching the memories afterward was not quite as entertaining as witnessing everything in person, but it was still better than spending hours staring at a group of adults who refused to lose their composure.
Vera lifted her glass and finished the last of her drink.
"Cyrus, I’m ready to pay."
Cyrus walked over.
"Thirty-seven dollars after the discount."
Only the counter separated them.
Vera’s golden eyes curved with familiar amusement.
"You’re really making your school nurse pay? Aren’t you worried I might suddenly forget to keep your little secret?"
Cyrus had not yet answered when Helena spoke from beside her.
"Then you don’t need to pay."
Vera turned toward her.
Helena’s expression remained perfectly calm.
She certainly had the authority to say that. The Full Moon Lounge belonged to the Baird family.
Vera smiled.
Instead of accepting the offer, she placed a hundred-dollar bill on the counter.
"Keep the rest as a tip."
She slid off her stool.
Her gray hair and golden eyes drew several looks as she crossed the lounge, but on Halloween night, most customers only seemed to admire the effort she had supposedly put into her costume.
The door closed behind her.
Cyrus waited a few seconds.
Once he was reasonably confident Vera was not about to turn around and come back, he relaxed slightly.
Having her around this many people from his life always felt dangerous.
Vera knew too much.
That made her feel less like an ordinary customer and more like a device that might explode whenever she became bored.
Before Cyrus could clear her glass, Daphne stood as well.
"I should probably head home."
Cyrus looked at her.
"Be careful on the way back."
His shift still had some time left, so he naturally made no move to follow.
Daphne’s eyes seemed to dim slightly.
She said nothing about it.
After paying, she headed toward the entrance.
Rhea watched Daphne leave.
A short while later, she also stood, settled her bill, and followed her out of the lounge.
Cyrus watched the door close again.
Something about the timing felt strange.
Those two could not possibly have become friends after meeting tonight, could they?
Cyrus thought about Daphne for another moment.
She might actually have been surprisingly suited to police work.
Her physical condition had always seemed far better than that of an ordinary teacher, and she had already proven disturbingly competent when it came to checking surveillance footage, investigating private matters, and entering places she was not supposed to enter.
Compared with all that, teaching language arts almost seemed like a waste of talent.
Cyrus silently criticized her career choice, then returned to cleaning the counter.
When he next checked the clock, the time was slowly approaching ten.
Audra remained seated in the same place.
She had not interrupted him once.
As the night deepened, the number of customers inside The Full Moon Lounge gradually decreased. The livelier Halloween atmosphere softened, and the room began to resemble its usual quiet self again.
Even on a Saturday night, a relaxed cocktail lounge like this did not stay packed indefinitely.
Cyrus glanced toward Audra.
She seemed to be thinking about something.
"Is the person picking you up still not here?"
Audra looked at him.
"They said they’ll need a little more time."
Cyrus nodded.
Audra then asked, "What time do you finish tonight?"
"Probably around ten."
"I understand."
She gave a small nod and remained seated.
Cyrus looked at her again.
Was anyone actually coming to pick her up?
Maybe Audra simply did not want to walk alone this late and had made up an excuse to stay until he finished.
The possibility seemed reasonable.
Before Cyrus could say anything, Helena spoke from nearby.
"You’ve done enough for tonight. You can leave early and walk your classmate home."
Apparently, she had reached a similar conclusion.
Cyrus looked at the clock again.
Helena was letting him leave roughly half an hour early.
"Thanks, Helena."
"You don’t need to thank me."
Cyrus did not bother pretending to refuse.
The busiest part of the night was already over.
Getting off work early was obviously good for him, and escorting Audra home also gave him another small opportunity to strengthen their relationship.
There was no downside.
"I’ll go change first."
Audra nodded obediently.
"I’ll wait for you."
She watched Cyrus disappear through the staff door.
Only after he was gone did her attention drift toward the memory of the white tail attached behind him.
It had looked absurdly soft.
Audra had spent half the evening trying not to wonder what it felt like.
Then Helena suddenly stood.
Without saying much, she followed Cyrus toward the back.
Audra immediately rose from her seat.
Her earlier thoughts disappeared.
Why was Helena following him?
Cyrus had clearly said he was going to change clothes.
Malcolm noticed Audra’s reaction from behind the counter.
"You don’t need to worry."
Audra turned toward him.
Malcolm continued in his usual gentle tone.
"The tail accessory is difficult to remove alone. Helena helped him put it on earlier, so she’s going back to help take it off."
His explanation sounded completely ordinary.
Audra slowly sat down again.
"I understand."
Malcolm’s calm voice had an oddly reassuring quality.
Once he explained it, Audra felt almost embarrassed for reacting so quickly.
Helena was simply helping with the costume.
There was nothing strange about that.
Still, Audra quietly added one condition in her mind.
If they did not come back out within five minutes, she would go check.
Inside the changing room, Cyrus had already started removing the costume.
The wolf ears came off first.
Then he loosened his tie, removed the vest, and pulled off the white shirt.
He had only just finished when the door suddenly opened behind him.
Cyrus turned.
Helena stood there.
Surprise appeared openly in his eyes.
"Helena?"
"The tail is difficult to remove by yourself, so I came to help."
Helena had apparently not expected him to change this quickly.
Her eyes landed on Cyrus’s bare upper body.
For a brief moment, her attention paused.
Then she shifted her gaze slightly aside.
Cyrus looked down at himself before turning his attention toward the costume still fastened around his waist.
The white tail was attached through something resembling a soft belt, while the clasp itself sat toward the back where he could not easily see it.
He reached behind himself and tested the fastening.
It was awkward.
If Cyrus had put the tail on himself earlier, he probably would have known exactly how the clasp worked and could have removed it without much trouble.
Unfortunately, he had not been the person who put it on.
Helena had fastened it for him from the beginning.