Scaley's Arc

Chapter 9 of 9

Scaley followed the blood trail for two hours before it ended. The drops led her past the bone yard, through water that came up to her knees, into sections of the deep marsh she'd marked as dangerous in her ledger but never crossed. The trail stopped at a clearing where a figure sat waiting on a fallen log. The turtle wore a red bandana and watched her approach without moving. Behind him stood a small weathered shack, its walls listing to one side, with "Grumble Shack" carved above the door. Scaley stopped ten feet back and counted the exits — three routes through the cypress, one across open water. The turtle raised one heavy hand. "She's gone," he said. "Caught her yesterday at dawn. Elders got word she'd turned. They were waiting when she crossed the deep water." Scaley felt the words settle but didn't move. She pulled out her ledger and opened it to the page where Willow's name sat under the oath entry. "Where's the body?" The turtle gestured toward the shack. Scaley walked past him and pushed the door open. Inside, a red smear ran across the far wall where something had been dragged. No body. Just blood — too much of it to walk away from. She stepped back outside and closed the door. The turtle was still sitting on the log. "They took her north," he said. "Said she knew about the gem. Said she was the one who helped it change hands." Scaley wrote three lines in her ledger: *Willow — dead, no body recovered. Elders knew about the gem transfer. New lead: Willow's role unclear.* She closed the book and looked at the turtle. He'd been the one she released at the bone yard in exchange for information. He'd betrayed her to the elders once. Now he was here, waiting with news he didn't have to give. She could walk away and let the oath die incomplete. Or she could ask the question that had been sitting in her bones since the night the gem vanished. "Did Willow take it?" she asked. The turtle shook his head. "No. But she knew who did." Scaley adjusted her straw hat and turned back toward the village. The cultists were caught. Willow was gone. But the gem was still out there, and now Scaley had a name to find — the one Willow had died protecting.