His eyes widened incredulously. "Seven hundred is too young?"
Lissianna grinned. "Mother is relatively young for our people."
"I suppose," Greg allowed, and she knew he was probably recalling that her father had been much, much older.
"Uncle Lucian is head of the council."
"Your uncle?" He considered that briefly, then asked, "So what do they do if someone breaks the law and sires more than one person?"
Lissianna shifted uncomfortably, finding the subject an unpleasant one. "I have only heard of one instance where someone turned a second person," she admitted.
"And what did your uncle and his council do?" he asked.
"The individual who did the siring was... terminated."
"Geez. Terminated?" Greg sat back at this news, then asked. "How?"
"He was staked out in the open for a day to allow the sun to ravage him, then set on fire when the sun set."
"Dear God," he breathed. "Your uncle is brutal."
"This was centuries ago, everyone was brutal then," she said quickly, then added, "it was meant as a deterrent for others, to prevent anyone else breaking the law."
"Pretty persuasive," he muttered. "What happened to the person that was sired?"
Lissianna shrugged. "Nothing that I know of; she was allowed to live. I guess her life replaced her sire's."
"Hmm." Greg glanced toward Juli and Vicki, and said, "I gather twins are allowed, despite the one every hundred years rule, but what do they do if one of your women tries to have children closer together than a hundred years?"
"A little leeway is allowed there. Some have had children ninety-five years apart, but then the mother must wait the extra five years the next time to have another."
"But what if they try to have them fifty years apart, or have one right after another?""
"That is not allowed. The pregnancy has to be terminated."
"You can abort your babies?" Greg asked with surprise, and when she nodded, asked, "What about before abortions came into existence?"
Lissianna sighed. This was the sort of thing she preferred not to think about let alone discuss, but made herself answer. "Before proper abortions, the baby was either cut from the mother's stomach, or it was terminated after birth."
"I suppose they staked it out in the sun for a day and then set it on fire?" Greg suggested, sounding sharp.
"No, of course not." she said unhappily, knowing he was getting a bad impression of her people. "The council would have no reason to torture an innocent child."
He raised an eyebrow. "So how are they terminated then?"
Lissianna shrugged helplessly. "I'm not sure. I know no one who has tried to have children closer together than the allowed time. It would be foolish. A pregnancy isn't something easily hidden."
Greg let his breath out on a sigh, some of the tension leaving him. "What other laws have your council come up with?"
Lissianna pursed her lips. "We aren't allowed to murder or rob each other."
"Each other?" he asked, tone sharp again. "What about mortals?"
"Not without a good reason," she assured him.
"A good reason?" Greg gaped at her. "What exactly constitutes a good reason?"
Lissianna sighed at his reaction, knowing she should have expected it. "Well, to protect ourselves or others of our kind."