The Longest Day Of Summer

Chapter 1

Cait found it hard to believe that only a few hours ago she had been stuck inside her grandfather's house among stacks of mouldering old books. Most of the time George Mackenzie wasn't the worst person to be around, but recently things had begun to get more than a little bit strange. Maybe strange wasn't the right word...her grandfather had always been different. This wasn't really anything new. Maybe what she should be calling the recent happenings was 'off kilter'. Cait sighed. She wasn't fooling anyone, least of all herself. These past few weeks George had only been getting worse. And beforehand he had been odd enough in the eyes of the villagers to earn the name 'old man crazy'. It wasn't surprising. In a small village like West Brae there was always going to be talk and outsiders would always be looked upon with suspicion. It was almost like living in the dark ages sometimes. Or, at least that's what Cait thought. If her grandfather had lived in the city, he might just be looked upon as being a little eccentric, not completely stark raving mad. People here can be so narrow minded. Cait found herself thinking bitterly.

She took a calming breath and let her feelings of frustration go, placing herself in the villager's shoes. To them, a lone, unhappy man, living in a massive, half ruined house, with a seemingly unhealthy obsession with the supernatural, would not appear the most sane of people. That man might even seem frightening. Cait let a sigh whistle out between her teeth. As much as she frowned upon the villager's opinions of her grandfather, she couldn't say they weren't without reason. George didn't really do himself many favours, and had become rather detached from life outside the Kilentully estate. All this left Cait feeling a pang of sorrow towards her grandfather and a stab of guilt for feeling relieved to be out of his company. His family were his only friends now.

"Penny for your thoughts?" a bright voice chimed in her ear. Once upon a time, Cait might have been surprised at the sudden, unexpected noise. Now she was so used to moments like it, she barely even blinked in acknowledgement. She didn't answer for a few minutes, allowing herself more time to her thoughts, but the speaker grew impatient. Cait yelped as a cold trickle of snow was mashed into the back of her neck. She spun round, kicking up snow in her wake.

"Kieran!" she snapped. Her friend smiled at her, his vivid green eyes alive with mischief. It seemed no matter how much glamour he used, his eyes were always as vibrant as ever, conveying his every emotion. As wild as he looked now, without his glamour he would be breath taking. Every Faery was. Some, though, were more potent than others, depending on their wishes towards the humans who saw them in their true state. Not that many humans got to see the Fae anyway. Cait was among a few exceptions throughout history. Nobody ever saw the Good People unless they had either the Sight, or a Fae presented itself to them. Cait had been gifted the Sight by Ide after they first met. The Faery had taken an unusual liking to her. The thought sent a shiver of unease up Cait's spine.

Kieran's grin slipped from his face as he noticed the distracted look Cait wore, so unlike her normal carefree expression.

"What is it?" he asked, reaching a hand out to touch her arm. She shied away from him with a jolt.

"Do you know how long my jumper is going to have to spend on the heater before it dries?!" Cait exclaimed. Kieran smiled and shook his head at her. As hard as Cait tried, she didn't hide her feelings very well. He knew there was something other than a damp jumper preying on her mind. But, if she wasn't going to talk to him about it, he wasn't going to push her for answers.

"It's only a jumper, Cait," he laughed. She pulled her face down into a petulant scowl at his reaction and then shrugged.

"You wouldn't understand," She sniffed.

"I'm not going to deny that. Human clothing is not hard wearing enough, and yet, still you go out and you buy more," Kieran smiled.

"It's called retail therapy," Cait said, mimicking her friend Melissa's voice.