CH. 4
"My name is St. James Katharine deMolay de Sinclair." At Carlisle's raised brows, she smiled. "Yes. That deMolay was my uncle. Well, great half-uncle, actually. I was born on All Saints Day, 1287, in Burgundy, near Dijon. And before you ask, I have no idea if my aging process was different at birth. My mother died of childbed fever, and I was raised by my father and his …brothers. It was, to say the least, a very unorthodox childhood."
"That is impossible," said Bella. "You cannot possibly be more than seven hundred years old."
"And you are an expert on what is and is not possible, Miss Bella?" queried Finder gently. Had Bella been able to blush, she would have been crimson, for she herself had fallen into the impossible, and married him.
"Gotcha there, Bells," said Jake, grinning.
"Well, not everything is possible," grumped Rosalie. "But a seven hundred year old human does stretch the limits."
"My dear, you have not begun to have your beliefs tested, not yet." Finder was, to the Cullens, unaccountably and suddenly…other. A slight stiffening of their bodies indicated that on some instinctive level they perceived this woman as a threat. A wave of peace flowed through the room, and Finder smiled at Jasper. "Thank you, but truly, it is ineffective on my behalf."
"Not for you, ma'am, but for me," Jasper answered. "It was suddenly very intense in here. I needed the break."
His siblings laughed and the atmosphere lightened.
"Please, continue. You were saying that Jacques deMolay was your uncle?" prompted Carlisle. "You do mean the Jacques deMolay?"
"I do," answered Finder. "And this story will get quite a bite stranger before we are done."
"I personally find the idea of a seven hundred year old human strange enough," chimed in Emmett.
"As you should, young Emmett. It is, indeed, strange. And the rest of this story is equally strange."
"Who the heck was Jacques deMolay, and why is this important?" asked Seth.
Edward answered, "Jacques deMolay was the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar. He was executed by the king of France in 1314, after the suppression of the Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, the Pauperes Commilitones Christi Templique Solomonici."
"The Knights Templar? You're telling us that your uncle was the leader of the Knights Templar?" shouted Emmett. "What a load of…." He caught Esme's look, "…crap. Knights Templar." He snorted.
"The Knights have not been a force in this world for centuries," commented Jasper. "Well, that is what the books say, Jazz, but we know that books aren't always correct, and they don't tell everything, now do they?" asked Alice, a none-too-subtle reminder of the annoyance Jasper felt when reading most books written about the American Civil War, a war in which he had been an active participant. Jasper reluctantly shook his head at his wife, who smiled and took his hand.
"They do not, Miss Alice. And in this case, most certainly they do not," said Finder.
"Man, this is like outta some dumb movie" complained Jake. "Mysterious women, Knights Templar, cool cars. What's next, some guys on horseback trying to kill us?"
"Naw, naw, wrong movie, Jake. What's next is some guys trying to find the Holy Grail or some treasure," laughed Seth.
Finder gazed at the two shapeshifters calmly. "You aren't that far off the mark, young sirs. The Grail does play a part in this story, though it isn't the pivotal point. The story begins with the Templars because I began there, but this is not a Templar story. This is far, far more than that."
"Holy Grail? Templars? Movies? I don't understand. Grandpa Carlisle, what is going on here?" Reneesme had been silent until now, but her question rang though the room.
"You are about to learn why a Knight of the Temple of Solomon, a female knight, is sitting in your living room, asking your help to save your world."
The Cullens were dumfounded. They stared at one another, and at the strange woman, doubting her claims, doubting her barely begun story, doubting it all. Finder sighed again. She held up her hands, staring at them, turning them back and forth against the light coming through the giant windows of the living room.
"When does a person…stop being human? Where does honor end? At what point is betrayal not simply impossible, but the only recourse?" she wondered aloud. "I have lived longer than any of you, seen terrible and wonderful things, and still, I do not have the answer." Behind her, the Cullens were silent, searching each other's faces as they listened. Carlisle could see what his family was thinking. Like him, predators attuned to the unspoken reactions of their prey, they could hear the restrained emotion, the raw truth in this woman's words. He could see their curiosity. It made no sense, her story. It just could not be, and yet, Carlisle saw in their eyes that no one was ready to dismiss this strange, small woman out of hand. Which was, of itself, a very unusual thing: when one hides the majority of one's life, one's very self from the world, one does not trust anyone easily. Carlisle shook his head slightly and Esme raised her brows in query. He smiled reassuringly at her, and turned back to their guest, who was standing with her back to the room, staring out at the growing darkness. Absently she turned the teacup round and round on the saucer, quietly, her mind far away. Without turning to watch their reactions, she continued her story.
"I was raised, mostly in my mother's family lands in Scotland, by men sworn to the Templars. My father was illegitimate, and could not actually be a knight, but he took the vows of a lay brother after my mother died. The Order knew trouble was coming. My father, Jean, became indispensible to my uncle's plans, as did I. Being born legitimate, my only bar was being female, but the brothers acted as if I were simply a small- boned man, and so did I. I received an education the likes of which few persons of my time, and certainly even fewer women could even dream of. I was taught Latin, Greek, Arabic, Hebrew, French, English and Scots. History, mathematics, music, literature, philosophy, alchemy and theology were my academic pursuits and there was daily martial training from the time I could walk. Some of the greatest teachers of the time came to the quiet priories to teach me. Some stayed, others came and went, but always, the training, the intense, unremitting training continued. It was all part of the plan.
"And then came the year 1307. My uncle knew, as did the entire Order, what was being discussed. They had known for years that someone would move against them, and had been planning their response the whole time. You must remember – these were the finest military strategists, the greatest financial geniuses of the entire western world. The Templars had the largest, most efficient spy network in the world. They knew what was coming. And they had a plan."
"You know," said Jasper into the pause, "I always wondered about that. I mean, as a military man myself, I always found it hard to believe that the Templars were simply caught flat-footed by the suppression. It never made sense. Military men, capable competent military men, men with far-reaching contacts throughout the world, just never seemed the type to be caught by surprise. Overwhelmed by numbers, maybe, but not surprised like that."
Finder turned from the window, assessing Jasper closely. "Young Jasper, scholars over the centuries have argued that very point. And you are correct: the Templars were not caught by surprise. Indeed, those who died went to their deaths protecting the plan, some in knowledge, some in ignorance, but martyrs to their beliefs. You see, the Templars held power, not solely because of their military might. The Templars held power because they held knowledge, secrets, mysteries….and knowledge is the greatest power of all."
"I believe love is the greatest power of all," said Edward softly.
"Young Edward, there can be no love without knowledge."
"She's right," said Bella softly. "You have to know who you are to recognize your soul mate. You have to know his worth, his value, and your own, and you can't have that without knowledge."
"Babies love without knowledge," said Reneesme.
"No," said Bella softly. "Babies don't love until they know something about themselves. Babies don't love until they understand that other people are actually separate, not simply an extension of the baby, like fingers or toes."
She smiled at Reneesme. "Some babies learn that amazingly quickly, but it is still knowledge that enables love." The family looked at each other, watched Edward and Bella's eyes meet, and even Jacob and Seth smiled. This family recognized a powerful Truth when they heard it, even coming from a stranger. Knowledge, awareness is indeed what makes love possible.
"So the Templars had some powerful secret and that got you here? You and the hot car?" said Jacob sarcastically.
"What's next, secret code words and hidden treasures?' added Seth.
"Jacob, Seth, manners," warned Esme, but Finder laughed. "Yes, young Jacob, young Seth. In a word, yes."
"So what, there's a treasure and some big secret? " asked Seth curiously.
"Just tell us," grumped Emmett.
"Secrets like this aren't that simple, Seth," cautioned Carlisle. "And if the secret itself is simple, what it can mean to the world may not be." "Indeed, Dr. Carlisle, indeed," agreed Finder.
"So what was the big plan, then? And how come it didn't work all that well? Where's the treasure?" asked Emmet. "And didn't all the Templars get killed, burned at the stake or something?"
Finder's face changed, a terrible wrath and grief etched in lines that suddenly appeared. Jasper recoiled from her ugly emotions and Esme squeezed Carlisle's hand tightly. Alice stroked Jasper's back as Finder continued. "Oh, yes, many died. After torture, after starvation, after deprivation, yes, many were burned at the state, some were hanged, and others died under questioning. They confessed, they repented and they died. They died, oh, yes, they died. They were falsely accused of heresy by a king who wanted rid of his debt, rid of the threat he believed the Templars posed to his reign. And so he killed them, that damned Philip le Belle. And they died, many ignorant of the truth but loyal, nonetheless, and their courage protected the final plan of the Templars, a plan that brought me here, to you."
Edward held his silence, weighing and observing carefully. The effect of this woman's story, her very presence on his family worried him. How was it that a room full of vampires and shapeshifters sat in companionable attention, listening to a total stranger weave fantastic tales? He shook his head slightly, straining to hear even an echo of Finder's thoughts, but still drawing a total blank.
"So, what, seven hundred years later, Templars are running around, saving the world or something?" Jacob snorted.
"After a fashion, yes. There were thirteen of us, actually, knighted on September 29, the Feast of the Archangels Michael, Raphael and Gabriel. One man for each of the disciples and one woman, for the Apostle to the Apostle, Mary the Magdalene. Our knighting included drinking from the Holy Grail, giving us a form of immortality. A woman had never been knighted before, but when we were sworn, after Jacques DeMolay explained the plan to us, it was clearly inevitable that I was part of the Templar Solution."
"You drank from the Grail and that made you immortal?" asked Carlisle.
"It is not immortality as you vampires, and you shape-shifters, experience it, but drinking from the Grail greatly slowed the aging process, and greatly accelerated my natural healing processes. I can be killed, but it is damnably difficult," Finder explained.
"I thought the Holy Grail was the bloodline of Jesus," said Jasper.
"It is both a Cup and a cup, young Jasper. As I said, secrets and mysteries"
"Oh, good God! Nobody can be taking this crap seriously!" Rosalie shouted, glaring at her family. "Holy Grail! Jesus' family! Good God! We've got this weirdo in our living room telling us that she's a seven hundred year-old Templar with treasure and secrets and she needs our help to save the world! Bullshit!"
"Rosalie!" exclaimed Esme, shocked.
"Don't look at me like that, Esme! We don't know anything about her, we don't know what she wants, and then she gives us some stupid fairy tale about Templars and knights and secrets…it's like every other stupid conspiracy theory! Just because she let me drive that incredible car doesn't mean that I believe a single word she says! And don't you dare try to calm me down, Jasper! She is a threat to us, and until we get some real answers, I am not gonna calm down!"
"Rosalie, I have good reason to believe that Finder is not a threat to us," temporized Carlisle.
"Reasons you won't share with us. And what kind of stupid name is Finder anyway," grumped Rosalie.
Finder laughed. It was a hearty, throaty laugh, the sort of laugh that invites the hearer to share a secret joke. The Cullens, despite themselves, smiled or chuckled, even Rosalie.
"Well, sorry, but this is all just so much crap until we have some way of verifying what we have been told. I mean, anybody could make up a story like this. History books, movies, fiction…anybody can make nearly any crazy claim about the Templars and nobody can prove anything one way or the other. And we haven't been told enough, not by a long shot," she warned Finder.
"No offense taken, Miss Rosalie, for you are correct. You haven't received enough information, you don't know what is going on, and you have no way of being certain of who, or what, I am. You are correct to be protective of your family and your lives here. I am here to ask you to risk everything, everything you hold dear, everything you believe in, your lives and the lives of your loved ones, to help me save this world. If we are discovered, by any one of a number of persons, we may die before we can do anything to help ourselves, much less the world we are trying to save. And let me assure "this is truly nothing less than the fate of this world."
"Ah, 'fate of the world', my ass," said Jacob scornfully. "I mean, this is an interesting story and all, but can we just get to the point? Like now, before supper?"
"Oh, Jacob, this is way more important that supper," grinned Reneesme.
"I don't know about anybody else, but I really want to hear the rest of the story," said Seth quietly.
"Let her finish, then," suggested Jasper. "Then we can decide what is going on here. I can tell you that she believes what she is telling us is the truth."
"You mean she isn't lying to us, right?" asked Emmett.
"No lies. Unbelievable story, but she isn't lying. She is holding plenty back, but so far…." Jasper broke off at Finder's gaze. "Sorry, ma'am, but I can read your emotions when you stop blocking me."
"I know. I thought having an empath confirm my veracity would help your family hear me out."
"So finish this story already," said Reneesme. "You just got to the interesting part."