Gethin strode up and down the length of the reading room. Each step he took was deliberate.

"We've discovered that Thomas Davies was involved in something unsavoury," Gethin said, pausing by the window. He looked out at the oak tree before turning back to me. "He wasn't just buying up land for development."

My heart raced. "What do you mean?"

"He was looking for something specific on the land," Gethin said, lowering his voice to almost a whisper. "Arcanite. It's a rare, deadly mineral."

I leaned back against the bookshelf. Agnes mentioned it earlier and I believe I saw some while with Fiona. But why would Thomas want it?"

"It enhances power," he said. "Not just any power, magical power. It's a warlock's dream and everyone else's nightmare."

The only Warlock I knew was Alun Davies. "And Thomas, he was Alun's brother. Does that mean he was a Warlock too?" I prompted.

Gethin hesitated. "Thomas was a Warlock. We believe he found a significant vein of arcanite here in Llyncroft. He might have been killed to keep its location a secret."

I clenched my fists, thinking back to the fight I witnessed over the land. "Do we know who's behind this? I remember Alun Davies fighting with a Centaur over land. "

"Geraint Miller? He and Alun have fought for years, and not just over land. We don't know who's behind the murder yet," he said. Our suspicion is that the perpetrator understands the potential of arcanite and stands to gain from it.

I could see the conflict in him. He was a police captain and had a duty to protect the village, but was there something more?

"What do we do next?" I asked.

Gethin looked me in the eye. "We need to find out where this vein of arcanite is before anyone else does. And we need to protect it."

"I'm in," I said.

Gethin nodded, the ghost of a smile on his lips. "Good, because I have a feeling we're going to need all the help we can get."

Gethin nodded towards the door, his whole demeanor changing. He somehow seemed lighter. "Do you fancy a walk, Evie? The fresh air will do us good."

I agreed it would be nice to spend some time with him.

We stepped outside into the cool morning air. I pulled my cardigan around me as we walked in silence. The gravel path crunched under our feet as we entered the woods through the garden.

"Can you feel it?" Gethin asked. "The air feels strange."

I stopped and took a deep breath. There was something in the air, like static. I replied, "Yes. It feels like electricity. What is it?"

"I could give you some cheesy line about it's how I make you feel, but I've felt nothing like it before."

We walked further into the woods, noticing the animals' behaviours. A terrified fox ran across our path. Birds were flitting from tree to tree in erratic patterns.

Gethin frowned as he watched a squirrel run up a tree trunk and then back down again, as if it wasn't sure where it wanted to go. "This isn't right," he said. "They're behaving as if there's a fire."

I looked in the direction he was staring. I saw more signs of distress. A deer stood stock still by a thicket. It was alert and its eyes were wide with fear.

"What is this?" I asked. "Elias told me something about a curse and how things go wrong when people take more from the land than they return."

Gethin's jaw tightened. "I don't know. I've not heard that one of his stories. The animals seem to sense something we can't see. I am worried Thomas or Alun may have unleashed something when they were looking for arcanite."

I shivered. If the animals were behaving like this, whatever was out there was significant.

"We need to find out what it is," Gethin said. "And fast."

I could feel Gethin's concern growing with each distressed creature we passed.

Gethin's stride faltered as we turned a corner on the narrow forest path and almost collided with Maeve. Her fiery hair was a stark contrast against the greenery, a beacon of unrest. She clutched a small bunch of wilted bluebells in her hands.

"Evie, Gethin," she breathed, her brown eyes wide with worry. "Thank goodness I've found you."

"What's happened?" Gethin asked, his voice carrying the weight of authority.

Maeve's gaze flicked between us, her lips quivering as she sought the right words. "It's the forest," she began, her voice barely above a whisper. "Something's wrong."

I stepped closer, feeling a twinge of dread in my stomach. "What do you mean?"

She held out the bluebells to me, their usual vibrancy drained to a sickly pallor. "These shouldn't be wilting, not now. The earth, it's as if it's crying out in pain."

I reached out hesitantly and brushed my fingers against the petals, half expecting them to disintegrate at my touch. They held firm but were brittle and dry.

"Can you feel it?" Maeve asked me, her eyes searching mine for understanding.

Closing my eyes, I concentrated, reaching out with that newfound connection to the earth. There was the usual thrumming beneath my feet, but there was a discordant note that set my teeth on edge.

"Yes," I murmured, opening my eyes to meet Maeve's anxious gaze. "There's a disharmony."

Maeve nodded gravely. "It started subtly. Little things here and there. But it's growing stronger by the hour."

Gethin ran his hand through his hair, his usual composure beginning to fray at the edges. "Do you have any idea what could cause this?"

She shook her head, frustration clear on her face. "Not precisely. But it feels like something foreign has invaded the land. Something that doesn't belong."

The surrounding woods seemed to echo her sentiments, the leaves rustling despite the absence of wind. The animals had grown quiet now. A silence more unsettling than their earlier panic.

"We need to find the source," I said, bracing myself against my discomfort.

Maeve bit her lip and nodded slowly. "I'll show you where I think it's coming from."

Briskly, Maeve guided us deeper into the woods through the undergrowth.

The tension in the air was almost as tangible. With each step, the forest's unease grew, silently begging for help.

Entering a clearing, I gasped. In the middle of the land Alun wanted to take from Geraint, was a crater. As if something had burned its way through the earth. The edges of the hole were blackened, and I could see a faint amber light deep within its depths.

Maeve stopped at the edge of the hole, her expression a mixture of fear and fascination. "This is it," she said. "This is where the pain is strongest."

I moved closer to the hole, my heart racing. The hole was an open wound in the earth. I felt the pain penetrate every fibre of my body. I crouched down to look inside. Among the rubble and debris, I could see little stones that were glowing a warm amber colour like the one Bella and Oli found in my garden.

Gethin joined me. "That looks like arcanite," he said.

I reached out towards the crater. The earth beneath my fingers seemed to hum. It was a strange feeling, as if I was touching something alive.

"It's like it's been burnt away," I said, pulling my hand back quickly as if my hand had been burnt.

Maeve nodded. "Whoever did this has ravaged the earth with no respect. I must talk to my people. We must heal the land."

I looked up at Gethin. He was staring into the hole, deep in thought.

"We need to secure this area," he said. "Before whoever did this comes back, or before someone else finds it."