CHAPTER FOURTY EIGHT
[48]

song: let go by ark patrol

WALTER RETURNED TO HIS LIVING ROOM WITH TWO CUPS OF COFFEE. Daisy accepted the mug with a smile, whereas Kai just eyed him until Walter sat it down on the table beside him.

Walter's house was small, but cute. It was a hunting cabin, that sat at just the edge of the beach. The walls were logged and the furniture was dark wooded, with as many flannel blankets and fabrics as you could imagine.

"Can I get you guys anything else? I caught some striped bass this morning I could fry it up?" Walter offers. It was clear he was happy to have guests. Daisy knew all too well of the feeling of isolation, but her heart hurt at the thought of this old man here by himself for two years.

"Oh no, we're okay." Daisy smiles faintly. "Thank you, though." She says, swallowing. She glances at Kai who didn't look very pleased to be here.

Walter sat down and Kai leaned forward, examining him. Walter didn't meet Kai's eyes, even though it was clear he was staring straight at him.

The silence was too loud, and Daisy spoke up. She cleared her throat. "So you've stayed in Bar Harbor the whole time?" Daisy asks, sipping her warm coffee.

Walter nodded towards Daisy, glad to have the reason to avoid Kai's glare. "Bar Harbor is my home. It didn't feel right to leave it behind even if... circumstances changed." Walter said. "And you two... how long have you been here?"

Daisy took a breath. "Four years."

Walter turned Kai to hear his answer, but he said nothing. Just stared at him. Daisy spoke for him. "He's been here almost six months." She said.

Walter nodded with an awkward half smile. "I can imagine it's been difficult."

Difficult was an understatement. "Yes—" Daisy began to respond but was cut off when Kai finally said something.

"Let's cut to the chase." He leans back in his chair with a huff. "Where's your grimoire?" He asks. Daisy rolled her eyes at Kai's bluntness.

Walter clenched his jaw before standing up, walking towards a broom closet. "I've searched through this numerous times for answers, and got nothing." He says with a sigh, opening the closet and grabbing the grimoire from a high shelf. It looked a bit different to the one Daisy had set on fire, but same idea. "So I'll doubt you'll find whatever you're looking for."

Kai stood up from his seat, grabbing the book from Walter and setting it down on the coffee table in front of Daisy, sitting beside her. "Why were you sent you here?" Kai asks, skimming through the pages of the unfamiliarly worded book.

Daisy glanced up at Walter, who now wore an uncomfortable expression. When the man didn't answer, Kai lifted his gaze off the book and too him, raising an eyebrow. "It's not something I want to talk about." Walter shook his head, and his mouth twitched into a clearly uncomfortable smile.

Daisy looked over at Kai who was beside her. His eyes were focused on Walter, examining him with a hint of suspicion, before he turned back to Daisy. When they met eyes, she quickly turned away.

"That's okay." Daisy nodded. "I understand."

"Daisy can we talk outside." Kai spoke, but not in a questioning tone. More of a demand. She looked at him confusedly, and he grabbed her arm, standing up from the couch.

Daisy had no choice but to follow him as he made his way to the front porch, then to the driveway. When they stopped, Daisy yanked her arm out of his grip.

"You're being an asshole." She whisper-yells.

"I don't trust him." He responded.

"I don't think anyone trusts someone they met twenty minutes ago." Daisy says.

Kai shook his head. "No— not like that. Something's off about him." Daisy could admit to that. Walter was a bit strange, but she couldn't blame him. "I think I know who he is. Or— I at least recognize him from gatherings."

"Is that such a bad thing?" Daisy asks.

Kai says. "My Coven put him here for a reason. Just like you and me. There's probably some pretty good reasoning behind it—"

"Oh, okay. So I'm here for good reason, then?" She raises her eyebrows. "I deserve to be locked away in a prison world because your dad didn't want his son to be—"

"You know what I mean." Kai stops her with a stern look.

Daisy clenched her jaw, crossing her arms as she glanced at the small cabin, then back to Kai. "I don't understand why we can't just talk to him for a bit and see if he knows anything—"

"He's a threat." Kai interrupts.

Daisy let out a scoff, as she turned and walked back to the house. "God, you're dramatic."

Kai grabbed her arm and turned her around, but she pulled herself out of his grip. "Stop doing that." She said sternly, getting his face.

He breathed heavily, staring at her for a few moments before speaking again. "Fine. Why don't you go hang out with the creepy old guy and I'll go and find something that's actually useful."

"Fine." Daisy says back, before spinning around and stomping back up the stairs to the front porch of the cabin.

Kai lingered in the driveway for a bit, watching as Daisy went back inside without any hesitation. When he suggested it, he kind of thought she agree. But of course, she did. He clenched his jaw frustratedly before looking around, not sure where to even start.

He walked around the harbor for a good while, looking for anything that might point in the direction of answers. As a large majority of his coven lived in Bar Harbor, he would've assumed there'd be more magic, but he felt barely any radiating off the air.

He pushed open the doors to the library. A bell dinged as he stepped inside. The smell of old books and moth balls filling his nose. He paced the aisles, skimming the titles of books he passed.

Walter Freeley. The name felt familiar, but not enough to remember anything. Kai didn't recognize him at first, but as he sat in Walter's living room and studied him, he realized he'd seen Walter a few times at Coven gatherings when he was a kid.

He had something about him that was unforgettable. The way he held himself, and sat back in the corner by himself at the gatherings, watching silently.

As Kai glanced around the library, his eyes landed on the computers that sat in rows in the corner. He walked to them, sitting down in front of one and powering it on.

The blue screen appeared; and Kai clicked on the World Wide Web option. It took a minute to load, but when it did he quickly typed Walter's name in the search bar. He hadn't used the Internet a lot before, and he didn't know how reliable it was but it was worth a shot.

The screen buffered for a few minutes, and Kai impatiently tapped his fingers on the desk as he waited. He sat up quickly, leaning towards the screen with squinted eyes as he read the headline that came up.

'Maine State Prison Escapee Walter Freeley Still Missing After Three Years'

"Oh shit." Kai muttered, as he clicked on the article, which then took another few minutes to load. But this time he felt his foot tapping anxiously under the desk as he waited. When it opened, he quickly read on.

'Walter Freeley; serial rapist and convinced of nine different murders, seven of which were women under thirty, has been missing from the Maine State Prison for almost five years now, leaving bodies as a trail of evidence. Federal authorities have yet to locate him—'

Kai stopped reading and leaned back in his seat. "Oh shit."

—

Daisy sat on the floor of Walter's home cross legged, flipping through the pages of the grimoire, and other books Walter had given her to look through. Music played from a record player that sat in Walter's living room, and he hummed along as he sat opposite her, reading along.

"This is all very foreign to me." Daisy scoffs a bit, feeling awkward that she'd been sitting here reading but has found literally nothing. Fortunately she does now know how to make a drug-free, but magic-induced hallucinogen.

"That's alright." Walter said. "It's a lot to take in for a human, I'm sure." He said. Daisy could feel his eyes on her, but she refused to look up to avoid the inevitable awkward eye contact.

"Mhm." She responded, turning the page. "Do you have any family? Back home?"

He shook his head. "Just me."

Daisy glanced up at him, realizing he was still looking at her. She smiled a bit before returning her gaze to the grimoire. "I have a big sister. She was a pain in my ass, but I miss her. A lot." She felt a knot grow in her throat. "My mom too."

"Any boyfriends?" Walter asks. Daisy looks up at him, surprise on her face. "You're a very pretty young lady, I'm sure you had a few." He adds.

Daisy felt herself cringe, and she let out an awkward laugh. "A few." She responds with a swallow, before grabbing a different book and flipping through it.

Walter nodded slowly. "Women have wants and needs as much as men." He says. Daisy let her gaze fall off the book, but didn't raise it to meet his. She wasn't sure where he was going with this, but the way he was wording it didn't make it sound good. "It's been hard for me. Alone. With no one to give me those wants. And needs."

Daisy clenched her jaw, as she slowly looked up at him. His beady eyes on her making her feel a little sick to her stomach. "I'm gonna go check on Kai." She says, her mouth instinctively turning into an awkward smile as she started to stand up.

"Don't." Walter spoke sternly. Daisy felt herself tense at the change in tone. He let out a small laugh, the tone changing once again to the light hearted, awkward man she was speaking to earlier. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." He spoke the familiar words again. He stood up.

Daisy didn't know what to do. She didn't know if there was anything that she was supposed to do. He hadn't done anything, but his words were extremely unsettling. "You didn't scare me." She says, shaking her head slightly. "I just want to see if Kai has found anything yet." Daisy glanced around the cabin, hunting rifles hung around the walls, along with multiple mounted animal heads. She felt a cold, coarse hand grip her arm and she froze, not daring to turn to face him.

"Stay." Walter spoke quietly. "Just for a few minutes."

She knew she didn't stand a chance. He had magic, she didn't. She was strong, but she wasn't stupid. Of course, she couldn't die here, but that didn't mean the injuries wouldn't affect her. Let alone anything else he did. Slowly, Daisy turned around. His stature had completely changed. It looked like he hadn't blinked for ten minutes, and she wasn't completely convinced he had. His stare was intense, but in the worst way possible. She felt a chill roll over her body.

Before her brain could tell her not to, she felt herself glance over at the rifle to the wall only a foot away from her. Walter followed her gaze, before turning back to her. A frantic look in his eye that she knew she caused.

He quickly grabbed her other arm, tightening his grip before she could even react. He started to push her back towards the couch but she dug her heels into the ground, resisting his pushes.

The front door swung open, and before Daisy could even process it, Kai stormed in, flung his hand up, and a loud, haunting crack came from beside Daisy. She turned quickly, watching as Walter fell to the ground, his neck turned completely in the wrong way as he hit the ground.

Her eyes widened at the sight, quick panicked breaths escaping her lips. His eyes were still open, but completely lifeless. She looked up at Kai in disbelief. She opened her mouth to speak but couldn't get any words out.

Even Kai knew this wasn't the appropriate time to say I told you so. Instead, he just handed Daisy the article he had just read, and had printed at the library. She skimmed it quickly, and Kai watched as her eyes filled with concern.

"Jesus christ..." She muttered, rubbing her arms where Walter had just grabbed her. As she handed the papers back to Kai, he made a face that said 'I know' , without any words needing to be said.

Daisy swallowed, regathering herself, before stepping forward and grabbing the rifle off the wall. "What are you doing?" Kai asks.

"I'll be here when he wakes up." She responded, as she examined the long wooden gun.

"Do you even know how to work—" He began. Daisy cocked the gun, interrupting Kai by the loud click. He tilted his head and admired her for a second before speaking again. "While I appreciate the enthusiasm— there's no need."

She narrowed her eyebrows at him. "But—"

"There's two things I know for sure about prison worlds." Kai began. He turned over Walter's lifeless body with his foot, making an awkward face at the way his head flopped over when he pushed him. "I can't die here, because it was created specifically for me. And you can't die here, because you were the first one here." He shrugs. "Everyone else is free game."

A very odd sense of comfort washed over Daisy. "So he's..."

"Dead." Kai says. "Dead dead." It was apparently necessary that Kai reinstated his point.

She took a deep breath, glancing from Walter up to Kai. "So your coven pretty much turned this into a serial killer, supernatural dumping ground?" Daisy asks.

Kai thought for a second. "That has a nice ring to it."

"Jesus." Daisy huffed, shaking her head as she uncocked the rifle, put it on safety and swung it over her shoulder. She then grabbed the other one off the wall and swung that over her shoulder.
She pushed the front door open and walked outside, a hint of anger radiating off her. Kai grabbed the grimoire and the books that were gathered on the table before following Daisy outside as she stormed back onto the harbor.

"You got your book. I'm going back to New York." She says as she charged off.

"Alone?" Kai says, trying to catch up.

"Mhm." She responds.

"You said it yourself— this 'prison world' is now a serial killer dumping ground." He spoke.

"You'll fit in nicely then." Daisy says as she trudges on.

"You can't go off on your own."

She turns around. "I can't just depend on you to show up and snap a neck whenever I'm in trouble. I'm gonna figure out how to defend myself. Alone."

He rolled his eyes and waited a few seconds before speaking again. "You know I'm not gonna let you do anything 'alone.'" He uses air quotes.

She clenched her jaw, holding in her annoyance for now. "Yes I am aware of that." She retorts. "But it was worth a try."

a/n
HAPPY ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY TO VILLAINS OF CIRCUMSTANCE!!! :-)

i started this book one year ago today so i thought i'd double update for y'all this week<3

thank you all so much for your encouragement and kind comments they seriously give me so much motivation and make me so happy. i cant respond to everyone but seriously yall tysm for all the love this past year🥲💓💓

hope you enjoyed !
- jane