Paladins: The Mother's Story

Dinner was an exercise in polite small-talk, as Shera and Choran talked about the farm and the harvest and the minor vicissitudes of day-to-day existence. They were careful not to sound as if they were trapped in the farmhouse, and obviously they were well provided-for, but after a time Laina began to suspect that much of what they said was just an outright denial of what they knew was happening outside. 

Raven was useless for polite conversation, though her occasional contributions seemed to charm Damlok. Laina found herself carrying the bulk of the exchange, talking about her unexpected and unasked-for role as a paladin, her time at the Temple of Amun, and her journey to find a proper Temple of Nepthys. At last she offered to brew a proper after-dinner tea, and grandmother Shera reluctantly accepted; but when she returned to the table with a pitcher full of white tea and blueberries with a hint of jasmine, the whole family settled down. 

Laina knew she'd won when Sarha cleared her throat and said, "In my youth I loved unwisely. There was a merchant's son, charming, well-established but ambitious. He pledged to become my husband... but he also pledged to become a vampire's thrall. We had been married only three months when he became a vampire, and it was three months after that when I knew I was carrying his child."

Laina glanced at Raven, who nodded. Whether that meant that she thought the story was true, or just that it was dark enough to entertain her was anyone's guess. It would be rude to throw down Zone of Truth in the family's dining room, she decided reluctantly. 

Damlok looked up from his plate, studied Raven's face and then Laina's. "Clearly I'm part Vampire," he said proudly. "I mean, even though I'm alive."

Laina nodded, because at this point she wasn't even particularly surprised. "Clearly you are," she said. "And clearly you're trying to learn how to be a good person. So..." She looked at Sarha. "What's going on with the farm?"

"Damlok's father wants him back," she said. "I left without telling him, and I took my son with me. I shouldn't have come back here. I shouldn't have put my parents--"

"Hush," said Choran. 

"--in danger," finished Sarha. "I didn't know where else to go. Any of the temples might have decided to end us, as abominations. At least here he can't enter without an invitation, and I revoked mine long ago."

"So he's out there?" asked Laina. "Trying to get in?"

"I believe so," said Sarha. "I think I even know where."