Blackbird turned to Andy. 'Show him.'
'What, now?' he said.
'Yes,' said Blackbird. 'Right now.'
Garvin moved forward, but Andy's frame wobbled and for a moment it looked like he would fall over. Then he spilled out into a swarm of insects that flew out in an expanding cloud to fill the hall with buzzing.
'Bees?' said Krane. 'He changes into bees?'
'Have you ever seen anything like it?' said Blackbird, almost shouting to be heard over the noise.
One or two of the other half-breeds were swatting at the insects, there were so many filling the hall. The crawled on people's clothes, flew into their hair, it was only a matter of time before someone got stung.
'Enough!' shouted Garvin. 'Clear the hall! Everyone out.
He and Fionh came around the ragtag group and stood before the Lords and Ladies, but there was little they could do against so many tiny insects. Kimlesh stared in wonder around her, while Yonna seemed immensely pleased with the situation. Not so Krane and Teoth, while Barthia sat stoically while the insects crawled on her.
'Out!' shouted Garvin. 'Everyone out!'
Tate and Amber came in from the hall and shepherded the half-breeds outside. Gradually the hall emptied, and when the space was clear, the bees began landing, building into a giant pile, which wavered and became a man again.
'Zorry,' he said. 'She zaid I had to show you.' Andy grinned shyly.
'I think we've seen enough,' said Kimlesh. 'Please wait outside. We'll call if we wish to speak with you further.'
'I hold you responsible for this, Niall,' said Garvin.
'I was merely following orders,' I told him.
'I'll speak with you later,' he said.
'Garvin may be upset with Niall, my Lords, my Ladies,' said Blackbird, 'but it was essential that you see this for yourselves. This is the reality of your great experiment. This is the result.'
'Then we need a new experiment,' said Krane.
'Do you?' said Blackbird. 'Have you seen such ability before?' she asked.
'Of course not,' he said 'It's bizarre. How can he take the form of so many? He'll lose all sense of self.'
'And yet he survives,' said Blackbird, 'and prospers, apparently without your assistance. If it was not for the harm done by humanity he would be living quietly still. He asks for little except to be left to live in peace, and you would deny him even that.'
'We're not denying him anything,' said Teoth.
'On the contrary,' said Blackbird. 'You are demanding that, like Angela, they present themselves at court to be deemed worthy of a place, and then you reject them because they do not fit your definition of what it means to be fey. They cannot win.'
'It is not a game, Blackbird,' said Barthia, 'and I have not refused anyone.'
'Shall I bring someone forward, then?' Blackbird asked. 'Will you grant them a place?'
'Bring them forward and we shall see,' Barthia said.
'And you will judge them to see if they are worthy to be called fey?' asked Blackbird.
'I will judge whether they are worthy of the court in which they are to be offered a place,' said Barthia, 'As I would any other.'
'But the others are all fey,' said Blackbird, 'and these are not. They are mongrel fey who have grown up with human customs and human values, some with odd or strange abilities, some traumatised by their treatment at the hands of humanity. They are not ready to join the courts, any more than you are ready to accept them.'
'What are you suggesting,' said Krane. 'We cannot just let them do whatever they want. Look at the damage they've caused already!'
'What damage?' asked Blackbird.
'There are floods in Somerset,' said Barthia, 'and the storm has done much damage.'
'Within a year, a memory,' said Blackbird, 'and forgotten in ten.'
'The Secretariat is aware that the storm is not natural,' said Garvin. 'They have demanded an explanation.'
'Demanded?' said Teoth. 'They are making demands, now, are they?'
'A bad choice of words perhaps, my Lord,' said Garvin, correcting himself, 'requested then.'
'Hmmf,' said Teoth.
'Nevertheless,' said Barthia, 'our agreement with humanity is clear. If we cannot curb the excesses of the Feyre, then we are in breach.'
'But they are not fey,' said Blackbird.
Barthia shook her head. 'It makes no difference. We are obligated.'
'Perhaps we should consider starting again,' said Krane. 'I know we've come a long way, but…'
Mellion mimed the turning of an hour-glass.
'There is not time,' Yonna agreed. 'Our numbers diminish each year, while the Seventh Court have only to wait.'
I cleared my throat. 'By starting again, I assume you mean genocide?'
'That's an ugly word, Dogstar,' said Barthia.
'It is an ugly thing, to consider wiping out a population because they do not fit your preconceptions,' I said.
'We have done worse,' said Teoth.
'That was long ago,' said Kimlesh.
'And yet the stain remains,' Teoth remarked.
There was a sober pause while I wondered what exactly they had done.
'We are caught between the deep and the dark,' said Barthia. 'Blackbird is right. We should accept them into the courts and deal with the consequences.'
'That's not what I said,' said Blackbird. 'Can we not let them live peacefully?'
'Bound by what?' Krane asked. 'It is only a matter of time before one of them succeeds where the girl, Eve, did not.'
'She was an exception,' said Blackbird.
'I wish it were true,' said Barthia. 'We have not excelled in our duty to protect and preserve. We left them to their fate and these are the consequences. You are right, we cannot have them, but nor can we let them be.'
'Then we must grasp the nettle,' said Krane, 'and do what needs to be done.'
Mellion stood from his chair. They all watched, expecting some grand gesture, but he walked forward to Fionh, standing close and making quick elaborate hand gestures to her. She glanced at Garvin and then left quickly through the double doors.
'My lord?' said Garvin.
Mellion went back to his seat, interlacing his long fingers, and resting back against the chair.
'Is there something you wish to put before us,' asked Yonna.
After a moment, the double doors opened and Fionh appeared with Tate, carrying a large chair from the dining rooms along the hall. Mellion nodded and they brought it forward, placing it alongside him, and withdrew.
'What is the meaning of this, Lord Mellion?' asked Teoth. 'We already have an empty seat, we do not need another.'
Kimlesh leaned forward, and then smiled. 'Of course,' she said. 'It's perfect.'
'What's perfect?' said Yonna. Then she glanced back to the empty chair. 'You're not suggesting…?'
'A mongrel court?' said Barthia. 'Lord Mellion, this is a radical suggestion indeed.'
He shrugged.
'An elegant solution,' said Kimlesh, 'my compliments, Lord Mellion.'
'No!' said Krane. 'This is preposterous. Who would lead such a court?'
I glanced sideways, seeing no one move. I looked around the people beside me and saw what must be done. It would be risky, and dangerous, but it would secure my daughter, and all the others like her.
