Stephanie Meyer owns Twilight. The rest is all mine.
Ch. 5
Finder leant back in the chair and sipped her tea. "Ah, yes, the interesting part….The plan was as simple as possible: protect the Templar treasures and carry out our promise, our mission to protect pilgrims. You may not know, but pilgrim is not always a word with religious connotations. It also means traveler. The discoveries the Templars made in the Holy Land led them to conclude that those travelling through life merited the term, thus bringing all people, all sentient species, into the Templar oath to protect pilgrims on their path to enlightenment. This happened shortly after the knights moved out of the Holy Lands. After many years, they realized that someone in power would someday move against them, and that their knowledge could be perverted to great evil. They determined to find a way to protect both their knowledge and their cause. After all, the Templars came to regard themselves as the guardians of the entire human race, both burdened and blessed with a sacred responsibility. They searched the ancient knowledge and devised a plan, a plan that could evolve over centuries. They created a financial empire that spanned the known world, making them the first truly multinational business, and incredibly rich in the process. They then began searching out special children to raise, sealed to the Templar cause."
"So they deliberately set out to get rich?" asked Alice.
"Indeed, for in that time, as in most times, great wealth equals great power. Wealth can purchase tools, privacy, privilege, all the things the Templars needed if their mission was to carry forward for the future. They thought in long terms, those men. Centuries instead of decades. And wealth could buy what those special children would need."
"Special children?" asked Esme.
"Gifted children, Madame Esme. Humankind has always had those with rare gifts. In the earliest human societies, the gifted ones became shamans or seers or priests. When the old beliefs began to die out, or be superseded, the attitude about gifted humans changed. It became dangerous to be known as a person with unusual abilities. Gifts were either ignored or suppressed because fewer human societies accepted the paranormal. In fourteenth century Europe, the inability to hide those gifts resulted in death, at either the hands of the Church or those of ignorant people."
"They killed people, kids for being different?" asked Reneesme.
"You've read, darling. You know this," said Edward gently.
"Yes, but …." Reneesme broke off, distressed. "I am different."
"So are we all," responded Edward. "And strong enough to protect ourselves and each other." Jacob squeezed Reneesme's hand slightly, and she smiled. "I just guess it is just still in my mind. I mean, it hasn't been all that long since we had people trying to kill us because we are different."
"I am aware of your last encounter with the Volturi, Miss Reneesme. They were indeed prepared to destroy you all, for your differences threatened their power. The worst crimes, the most horrible actions, are always about power. And this situation is about power. There are people out there who are willing to risk the entire world to gain power." Finder sighed deeply. "I have never understood the mentality that would rather rule over a charnel house than surrender a sliver of power."
"I have seen the same thing, more than once. I do not understand it either." Carlisle looked sad. "I have seen cruelty beyond imagination, perpetrated against the innocent by those desiring power, ever more power."
"Sometimes, power is about keeping those you love safe," temporized Jasper, squeezing Alice's hand.
"That isn't what they are talking about, Jazz. They are talking about people who want what they want, regardless of the price paid by others, people who want it only for themselves," said Alice, patting his knee softly.
"Sometimes you have the power whether you want it or not," said Seth. "It isn't power that is evil, it's the wanting power for yourself, just for yourself, that is evil."
"Wise, young Seth. Very wise," commented Finder.
"So how does this fit into the magic plan?" asked Jacob, impatient with the philosophical turn of the conversation.
"Well, it wasn't just magic, young Jacob," chuckled Finder.
"Whooee! You mean there is magic in this?" shouted Emmett.
"Now, Emmett, you know there isn't any real magic," chided Esme. She stopped suddenly, and would have blushed had she been able.
"Except for vampires, shape-shifters, were-wolves and all those other mythological beings we keep running into," laughed Bella.
"And now we have magic knights and magic cups and magic secrets…" chanted Reneesme as the family laughed.
"There is far more magic than you have yet to encounter, Madam Esme, Miss Reneesme."
Carlisle objected, "But all of those things just mentioned have scientific explanations, or at least, partial explanations. Jacob's shape shifting is genetic. While the legends indicate a mystical beginning for this trait, there is no doubt that it is genetic."
"I understand your position as a scientist, Dr. Carlisle. Certainly, young Jacob's abilities are genetically linked. But how did they begin? How did this start? Legends ascribe a magical beginning. Who is to say those stories are wrong? As a person born gifted, who has also been touched by profound mystical power, I reserve further comment until we have finished with explanations." Finder drew the conversation back to her story, and Carlisle watched with a frission of disquiet at the ease with which his family accepted this strange woman and her equally strange story. Vampires just didn't deal with outsiders this well. Certainly his family expressed doubt and disbelief. It wasn't that; it was the ease with which they listened, the intensity they focused on this strange small woman and her far-fetched story. Why were they, even he, listening to her at all? It was no paranormal power, he was certain. Perhaps it was the force of intellect, the sense of humor, the honesty in her deep grey eyes. He shook his head slightly as she continued her story.
"As I said earlier, the Templars' plan included finding special children, children with paranormal gifts, and raising them to be the ultimate protectors of the Templar plan, and the Templar treasure. Eventually, there were thirteen of us, born between 1280 and 1290, all across Western Europe and the Middle East, who survived the selection process to adulthood. We were trained, educated, and indoctrinated to be the ultimate Templars. And then, in October of 1307, we were told the plan."
"Geeze. More history lessons?" griped Jacob.
"A bit more, young Jacob. Part of the Templar knowledge included the awareness of parallel worlds. Are you familiar with this theory?"
Carlisle nodded, as did Edward and Jasper, but the others merely looked curious.
"The theory is that there are multiple worlds, similar to our own, but not in all particulars. These worlds are normally inaccessible to each other, parallel but not ever touching. Occasionally, however, there are …leaks, if you will, into the other worlds, usually ascribed to vivid imaginations or dreams."
"You mean there are other worlds just like ours?" asked Reneesme. "And people, just like us?"
Carlisle was growing increasingly uncomfortable with the direction Finder's story had taken. What if Edward and Bella put two and two together? What if they remembered anything from the strange, evil night in Phoenix, the night Bella died, and did not die? What if Edward, who was so busy concentrating on their guest that he did not notice the turn in his father's thoughts, caught a trace of that night from Carlisle's mind? What would happen if anyone realized who, and what, Bella really was? Jasper noticed his increasing discomfort, raising an eyebrow as an offer to calm things down, but Carlisle pretended not to see as Finder continued.
"Yes, and no, Miss Reneesme. Some people have…twins on the other worlds, and some do not. The laws of reality differ between the worlds, growing ever more so the further from Earth Prime you travel."
"Wait a minute. How do you go to these other worlds? How do you know which one is Earth Prime? And how do you know all this?" asked Seth.
"I was born with some very rare gifts, young Seth. One of my gifts enables me to find anything that has, or has had, or will have physical reality, in any dimension. Of course, I cannot find a thing that does not yet exist, but I can find the time and place when it will exist, and be there should I desire. I can find things that no longer exist because the molecules do exist, and retain a…memory, if you will, of what they were. This means that I can travel between the worlds without any effort but my own because I can 'find' the path between."
"Ah, that is why you are the Finder," said Alice complacently. "You find things."
"I do indeed, Miss Alice."
"And how does this work? How did…does your gift make you aware of those other worlds?" asked Carlisle. At last, he felt he might have an explanation for all the mysteries he had lived with since that fateful night in Phoenix.
"Ah, well, that is a bit simpler. Part of the Templar knowledge is the history of the occasional contacts between the worlds. Others before me have been born with the ability to see across the dimensions. There have been others who could travel between the worlds. But my gift of finding makes it much easier for me to use the bridges between the worlds to travel between the dimensions. All my life I have found things: lost toys, lost pets, lost buttons, lost coins. While this is not my only gift, it is my strongest. As I grew older, my uncle and others of my teachers used my gift to devise the best solutions for the Templar plan. Often they did this without my knowing. When I was a student, my teachers understood my gift, or at least practical uses for it, better than I. Sometimes what I find isn't a thing but a person who can build, or create the thing for which I am searching. Sometimes, it is a place. I cannot, for example, find Truth, because Truth is an abstract. What I can find are the facts that create or demonstrate the Truth, because facts are physical."
"You can find the quantifiable, but not the qualifiable, correct?" asked Carlisle.
"Indeed, Dr. Carlisle. Although the distinction is sometimes not so precise, as in those cases where I must find a person who can find the physical thing for which I am searching. Interdimensional travel is, for me, one aspect of my gift, as are several others things. I do not see the future, like Miss Alice, but I do see the patterns and can draw reasonable conclusions. Training and experience let me reach these conclusions very quickly indeed."
"So you can travel between worlds. Are they all like this one?" asked Esme.
"Yes, and no. In some worlds, there are no mythological or preternatural creatures, except as works of fiction. In others, mythological and preternatural creatures abound. In some, there are creatures of myth as well as humans with paranormal abilities. In others, magic rules, rather than science. In many, time is different. In other words, I could go from this world, where it is the twenty-first century, into another, where it might be the twenty-fifth century. Or the twelfth."
"So what does all this have to do with us? And this saving the world crap? How does all this explain why you are here?" asked Rosalie.
"I swore an oath, and was bound to it through ritual and personal integrity. I am a knight, bound to protect those travelling the path to God. I am in a war against those who would destroy entire species, whole worlds, whether for power or simple stupidity. It is my job to stop these people, wherever I find them. Currently, I am searching for allies against one of my own, against a knight of the Temple who violated every oath he ever swore for power, power to destroy worlds. That is how I got here."
"Just your job, all alone?" asked Reneesme softly.
"Not in the beginning, no. As I said, there were thirteen of us, charged with protecting the worlds. We each had different gifts, similar training, and an oath that bound us. Some of us have died in this war, and others have retired, tired of the unending battle. And there have been, there are some who chose the other path, who have betrayed their oaths. Right now, I find myself in need of allies, allies who are utterly trustworthy, competent, and with the integrity and courage to stand forth for this world. I cannot, this time, do this alone. And that, Miss Rosalie, that is where you Cullens come in. That is how I have found you."
"You mean, there are guys like you who have gone over to the dark side?" asked Seth.
"Yes, that is a very good way to put it, young Seth," agreed Finder. "And one of those former Templars threatens this world. I need your help to save it."
"Awright!!! We're gonna save the world!" cheered Emmett, and Rosalie smacked him on the back of his head. "What did you do that for? He complained. "Isn't that why we sat through this whole long story, to get to the part where we save the world?"
Edward spoke up. "Emmett, we don't know yet what we are going to do. And we certainly don't know the rest of this story. Not yet, anyway."
Finder stood and walked to the table, where she poured herself another cup of tea. She stood in front of the huge window, watching the dark creep up the mountains. "Truly, I did not believe everything I was told at my knighting. I drank from a large golden cup. I felt the power called up by the ritual. I had travelled between worlds before, but it seemed surreal, like a dream, not something tangible. I held scrolls and books, I read maps, and was shown some of the truly unbelievable treasures held by my brothers, but nothing could have me believe that night that the Templars would soon be no more. The very night of my knighting, I was hustled onto a ship carrying some of the treasures of the Templars in its hold, a ship that sailed away before dawn. Each of the new knights were secreted out of France, to various locations, each carrying parts of the treasure with them, each with a few trusted brethren to help. And the next day, the entire Order was suppressed and outlawed in France, all the remaining Templars arrested and charged with heresy. They began dying that day."
"So where is the treasure? And those other guys? And what kind of gifts do they have? And which ones will we be facing?" asked Alice, bouncing on the couch. She stopped abruptly, her eyes going blank, and the entire family literally stopped breathing.
Alice opened her eyes, and they had gone from a warm topaz to black. "He is going to the Volturi, to Aro. I can't see his face, but he has a silver briefcase, very small. And Aro is pleased. He thinks this is some sort of weapon. And he has been expecting this for a while now."
The family began to speak all at once, but Finder overrode their voices. "When, Miss Alice? When does this happen?"
"Leave her alone – she needs a minute to recover from one this strong," hissed Jasper.
"No, let her answer, Jazz," directed Carlisle. "This is more important that you know."
"It's ok, Jazz, I can do this. Three months. Give or take a few days."
Finder took a deep breath, blowing it out softly. "Worse than I had hoped, better than I had expected. Three months."
"Let's just get to the point now, shall we?" said Rosalie. "You want us to believe that you are part of some plan to save the world from Aro and some renegade Templar wanna-be, that you have some sort of gifts, that you are over seven hundred years old….sheesh. This is so much crap!" she growled.
The Cullens looked from Rosalie to Finder, doubt plain on their faces. Finder smiled slightly.
"I cannot prove everything all at once, but let's take a couple of small steps. Vampire skin cannot be hurt with conventional weaponry, correct?"
"You know that already," said Rosalie.
"Yes. I am going to slowly remove a small knife from my boot," she said as she crossed her legs, reaching for the heel of her shoe. She unclipped and pulled a knife from the shank of the boot, about five inches long, with a plain black grip and an odd colored blade. She slowly handed the knife to Carlisle. "Dr Carlisle, this is very sharp. If you have a volunteer, please make a small cut, merely enough to prove the point that none of you have ever seen anything like this knife."
Carlisle took the knife, hefting it in his hands. "Fine balance," he commented, "but very light-weight, lighter than it should be."
"It isn't steel, Dr. Carlisle. It is an all-but-impervious metal found in another world. Nothing, nothing can resist this metal. It is forged in a nuclear furnace. Nothing else can even begin to shape this metal. It will resist even low-power lasers. And it will cut vampire skin."
"Yeah, right," said Emmet scornfully. "I volunteer, Carlisle. See if you can cut me with that itty bitty knife."
"The blade is far sharper than it seems, Dr. Carlisle. A tiny cut, one that will heal quickly and easily, is sufficient demonstration."
Carlisle held the knife in his hand, weighing it, weighing the situation. Esme asked, "Do we have to do this?"
"No, Madame Esme, we do not. But this is a quick, relatively painless demonstration that something here is different, wouldn't you say?" asked Finder.
"Well, yes, but…" Esme looked worried, concerned for Emmett, concerned for Carlisle, concerned for her family.
"Don't worry, Esme. It won't hurt a bit, Carlisle here is a professional," laughed Emmett, rolling up his sleeve and extending his arm. Carlisle sighed and took Emmett's arm. He eyed the blade, then made a swift stroke along Emmett's forearm. The skin split slightly, and a bit of venom oozed out the shallow cut.
"Wow!" said Emmett admiringly. "Where can I get a knife like this?"
Carlisle inspected the blade. It was unmarked, even though a drop or two of Emmett's venom still clung to the metal. "Interesting," he remarked. He passed the blade to Edward, who shared it with Bella and Jacob. Reneesme refused to look. Edward passed it to Jasper, and Rosalie and Alice crowded in, as did Seth. The blade was clearly undamaged. The cut on Emmett's arm was healing swiftly, courtesy of vampire venom, leaving a very fain silvery line behind, but the knife had done the impossible: a metal blade had damaged a vampire's skin.
"Alright, you have a unique weapon, I will give you that," growled Rosalie, unhappy that it had been Emmett who had suffered through the demonstration.
"Ah, babe, I told you, it didn't hurt a bit. And that knife is totally cool. I want one." Emmett laughed and hugged Rosalie.
"I have several blades from this metal. I believe I have one that would suit you, young Emmett. It is the least I can do for your assistance in this demonstration," smiled Finder.
"Yeah, well, this isn't proof, not by a long shot," warned Rosalie.
"It is something, Rose, and you can't deny that we have never seen anything like this before," said Jasper softly.
"Carlisle, have you ever seen anything like this?" asked Bella.
"I have not, Bella, but I have heard tales about weapons like this before. Years ago, while I lived in Italy," answered Carlisle.
"Let us try another small test," suggested Finder.
"Another cut?" sneered Rosalie.
"No more cuts. I don't like it." Reneesme looked uncertain and Jacob patted her hand. "Come on, Rose, let's give this a chance. You asked for proof," he said.
"Proof. Not cuts on my husband," snarled Rosalie angrily.
"No cuts. Volunteers, though. I suggest you test some of my other gifts," said Finder.
"And how do you suggest we do that?" asked Jasper warily.
"One of you stays and ensures that I do not 'cheat'. The rest of you take an item from the house and hide it. Do not tell me what it is, do not tell me which of you hides it. For expediency's sake, I suggest that you limit yourself to a twenty-mile radius from the house for your hiding place. Oh, and I would like to change my clothing to something a little more practical while you hide the item. If I have to get into water or mud, I want my working clothes." Finder looked at them calmly, and Alice's face broke into a wide, wide grin. "I'll stay. I can see the end of this already. You all wait here just a second, I will get Finder's luggage from her car and take it up to her room. Then you can go play." Alice bounced out of the room, humming happily to herself.
"I know that sound," murmured Bella. "She has seen the end of this already, and Finder wins."
"Yeah? Not without playing the game," said Emmett, cracking his knuckles. "And I do not like to loose, little sister."