The Eighth Court (The Courts of the Feyr - By Mike Shevdon Page 0,125

The room was garlanded in green and gold, with gold baubles hanging from the ceilings and strings of white lights over the pictures and the hangings.

There was a burst of applause from somewhere near the back, and then everyone was clapping.

“Smile,” said Blackbird through her teeth.

“Why are they clapping?” I murmured to her.

“It doesn’t matter. Just smile.”

We entered the room slowly and a corridor opened up for us. We were guided around until we reached the back of the room where the double doors into the garden room had been shut to prevent the chill from the night cooling the room, though a little cool air would have been nice. We stood with our backs against the doors until the applause died down.

I looked around, and there was a sea of faces. I tried to avoid catching anyone’s eye, but I could see Andy, the stubble from his face gone and his hair pulled back. He was wearing a lounge suit and looked handsome next to the woman who’d been wearing the miniskirt, who was now in a bright orange full-length dress and high heeled sandals. Megan wore a simple layered dress of muslin over gold silk. Even Sparky had dressed up, wearing a shirt and pencil-thin tie, standing next to the dark-eyed girl, who looked waiflike in a little black dress and kitten heels.

“Tonight,” said Blackbird, “is a special night. It is the end of the year, and the beginning of a new year. The sun dips its lowest and returns tomorrow with new vigour. This is the longest night, and that renewal will take time, but it will come, as we all know.”

She paused, looking around the room.

“I have summoned you here tonight because you are special, each of you. You carry with you the hope of a race whose vitality is fading like the dipping sun. It is my fervent and abiding hope that we will bring renewal to the Feyre as the sun brings spring to the earth.”

The applause broke out again, and it was a short while before she could be heard.

“That hope, like the first shoots of spring, must be fostered. It must be nurtured and brought to fruition. This court – the Gifted Court – the Eighth Court of the Feyre, begins tonight with the express purpose of fostering that hope and all who embody it. It is a night of rebirth, of transformation and renewal, and therefore I would ask each of you – if you wish to become part of that renewal, to step forward now and swear your allegiance to the Gifted Court in a blood oath.”

TWENTY

Garvin found the Dragon Hall in darkness. He’d been expecting some gathering, some celebration of the end of the old year and the beginning of the new. Instead the hall was empty and hollow. There was no music, no gathering of friends. In the dim light from the windows, the beams and struts across the high ceiling looked like the inside ribcage of some great beast – perhaps the dragon after which the hall was named. He went to the light switch and flicked it on and off. The electricity was out. It must have tripped.

“Lord Krane? Lord Teoth?” Garvin moved into the pool of light where the moonlight slanted in from the side window, where he could be seen.

“It was good of you to come,” said Krane stepping into the space before the opposite window so that he was outlined against the light.

“And at such short notice,” said Teoth, moving out against the next window. “I appreciate that this is a difficult time for you – things are so… fluid.”

“It is no more difficult than at any other time,” said Garvin. “My loyalty is to the High Court, and always has been. What is this about, my Lords?”

“The High Court, ah yes,” said Krane. “It’s so much easier when we are united in our purpose. At the moment you must feel pulled in all directions.”

“I will not take sides,” my Lords. “If you’re intending to ask me for my support, then you will be disappointed. I serve the whole court.”

“You weren’t always so dispassionate, though, were you Garvin?” said Krane.

“What do you mean?”

“Once you did take sides,” said Teoth. “You stood against the Seventh Court on the side of the mongrel fey. You murdered our brethren while protecting those who are less than fey.”

“I defended the High Court,” said Garvin. “And those whom the High Court sheltered. I would remind you that some