Part 2 - Chapter 11: Inuit Igloos

As soon as we witnessed the little town appearing on the horizon, Diomedes abruptly stopped our conversation. His golden eyes clouded to look more gray. He wasn't exactly happy. We ran around the small town and landed at an igloo a few miles away. Diomedes was the one to knock as I awkwardly stood a bit away. An old woman opened the door and looked curiously at us. She had wrinkled, olive skin and a big parka wrapped around her. Her long, straight, gray hair fell to her waist in a braid. She looked warm to be living in ice. She glanced at them hesitantly after one look at their robes and then spoke, "Volturi not welcome." She began closing the door as I spoke up, "Ma'am, it won't take that long. And we aren't allowed back for another few hours..."

She gazed long and hard at me and then at Diomedes for more than a minute. And that was forever for vampires. She finally landed on me when she stated, "One hour. More means mistake." She walked away leaving the door open for us to walk in. We saw two more vampires. They were obviously mates. The woman was leaning across the man. Both of them had black hair. But there was something off. "Dio!" I hissed. His ears perked and he glanced over. I spoke in rapid Spanish - because the moron didn't know French, "This isn't an immortal child! This is a half-blood!" He glanced back over and sniffed the air. He spoke back in the same language, "Which one?" I answered with the boy.

I could smell it. I'd never fully gotten a whiff of human, but I knew that one of these vampires was off. I wasn't even sure if the vampires was a half-blood. I smiled at the trio. The woman stood standing beside the couch that the love-birds remained on. The girl and the woman had very similar features. The boy, however, was different. He kept his eye on me, ignoring Diomedes, his mate, and whom I assumed was his mother-in-law. He kept his eyes glued solely on me. There was a memory pressing to the front of my mind, but I had to stay cool while in these Volturi robes.

"We were informed that there have been immortal children in this place," Diomedes started. I already didn't like how he did things. "But we want to hear your defense." He didn't look at me. He was still angry. The boy slid off the couch. His mate shook his head with fear in her wide, almond eyes. He put his hand out. "I'm Amaqjuaq. You are certainly not Aro." He spoke with an Arctic accent, but perfect English. It was much better than the older lady's. I shook his hand. "I am Silver, this is Diomedes." He nodded and shook both of our hands. Despite their olive skin, all of them were pale. But he seemed paler than the two women. "This is my mate Tapeesa and her mother Higalik. We welcome you into our home." Higalik scrunched her eyebrows and muttered something about one hour. Tapeesa slowly crept towards her mate and grabbed his hand. She was small compared to him.

"We have no immortal children here. Never have. It's been the three of us for a millennium." I cocked my head to the side. "You're not a real vampire." Higalik hissed and Tapeesa threw herself in front of him. Diomedes stepped to the side once as if to jump in front of my. I put one hand up. "Calm. I know of this strange predicament. When male vampires run around and get mortals pregnant with half-blooded children. They age fast, they have blood, but they live forever. They have one less chromosome than vampires, one more than humans. It's normal." They all relaxed just the slightest bit. "But Amaqjuaq, you're special. I've seen a half-blood. Lived with her. But you don't smell like her. You have more granite in your skin, more venom in your blood. You are more vampire than human. Which makes me theorize that you're a second generation of this. Let's see, I bet you're mother was born a half-blood - vampire father, mortal mother."

He nodded tensely. "I am guessing your mother died and your father left your mother to fend for herself. Usually remaining family helps. I'm going to stretch it even further to say that maybe she was raised by you Higalik." The old woman tersely nodded. "And when you were turned, Higalik, your daughter was also. And the two of you locked yourselves up in this igloo." They both nodded. Tapeesa seemed curious, but Higalik was hesitant. "Back to you Amaqjuaq. Your mother went on being a half-blood. She matured after a few years. And found her mate. A full vampire. And her - being half-mortal - became pregnant with you, birthing a quarter-blood. Three fourths vampire! Extraordinary! I suppose you probably have a special gift. I'm just guessing here. Correct me."

All of them seemed confused. Amaqjuaq was the first to recover. "You guess correctly, miss. I am of three-fourths blood. But that shouldn't matter to the Volturi-" "And it won't. Not at all. It won't get back to them. All that'll go back is that they never possessed an immortal child. I thank you for your time. Did we make our hour mark?" Higalik seemed to come out of some sort of shock. "Do you mind staying for longer, Miss, Mister?" Silver nodded politely and Diomedes glared at her. He had his arms crossed grouchily. In Spanish, "I cannot believe you let them go." "They're innocent. I want to talk to these people." We sat down around the table the others did. Well, technically, I did. Diomedes stayed planted in the front of the igloo. Higalik didn't give him a second glance, but Amaqjuaq did. Tapeesa was too busy feigning over her mate to worry.

"Sight, you have, child." I raised my eyebrow. "What does that mean, ma'am?" Higalik sighed heavily as if it were an anvil on her chest she had to lift up before her burden would be completely gone. "Sight. You see things can't." Her English was very bad. "Do you know any other language?" I asked timidly. She immediately began speaking French. "The Sight is something that helps you see things that others simply cannot. I do not contain the sight, nor does my daughter or son." I knew by son she meant her son-in-law. "This makes you see layers in the world that otherwise don't exist. You are more in touch with your physical being. You can morph these layers around to what you see fit. This can mean changing your appearance, changing your mental capacity, or changing your surroundings.

"There is great difficulty in having this skill. If you bend it too much, time is altered and lives are switched. Things are rearranged in the wrong order. Things don't settle back well. There isn't much else know about this Sight other than the fact that people who have it can not only see the present layers of the world, but the past and future. All of time and earth is in their palm. Most who possess this skill - which is few in the grand scheme of everything - have killed themselves in the process. There is no training, no order. Nothing is sure. One alter in time or earth or space or weight can change the entire world. Many don't worry about it. They put it away. Others hold it in their hand constantly and end up dead by the great spirits. Spirits don't like to be overpowered." Then she said something in a language I'd never heard, but somehow knew, "Spirits come in all shapes and sizes."