Carlisle's Diary

Disappearances

"Go ahead, tell them what you saw."

"What did you see?" Bella asked concerned.

"That Julia lady......oh ew.....she um......her head......it......um......turned 360 degrees!"

"It did what???" Esme gasped.

"Are you sure?" Bella countered.

"She's sure; I can see it in her head." Edward said looking disgusted himself.

"That-that's impossible for a human; the anatomy of something like that is just impossible." I stammered trying to get a grasp of what I just heard.

"Well then she's---" Jasper started before Rogue cut him off saying:

"A Sloulah demon."

"A say what now demon?" Emmett said confused.

"A Sloulah demon; pronounced sloo-lahhh. The h isn't silent." She repeated.

"I'd say....sounds like you have a lot of phlegm." Jacob muttered as we all rolled our eyes. Rogue just got off the couch, walked to a window and stared out into the backyard as she explained:

"The Sloulah are like giant rodents in their natural form. Obviously you saw one in a human shell. Julia belongs to that group and some of it makes sense to me now. The gruesome scene in that back room that Carlisle, Edward, and Emmett discovered is their signature calling card. The Sloulah ingest human brains; both for nutrition and for knowledge."

"Ingest? But how?" I asked revolted.

"Their tongues are a lot wider and longer than ours. They're also sharp enough that with enough force can be driven through a person's skull."

"But how do they incapacitate their victims in order to perform this feasting ritual?" Jasper asked with macabre interest.

"That really depends on the situation. It can be anything from slipping something into their drinks, conking them on the head with a blunt object just enough to get them unconscious, or throwing their saliva in the face of someone which immobilizes a person instantly. See a Sloulah demon that is about to eat a brain needs it to still be working......meaning....." She trailed off.

"The person has to be alive during the extracting process." Bella finished for her. We heard a gagging noise.

"Oh I think I'm going to be sick again....." Nessie moaned as she bolted for the bathroom again.

        The wolves were looking a bit green around the gills as well. The rest of us were just trying to absorb while the Watchers just sat in silence waiting for Rogue to continue. This was all so new to us; this topic of demons. We've met a few on the "other side" and recently saw a slew of them on bikes but this was actually contact with dealing. Suddenly, sparkling vampires didn't seem so big and bad anymore when there were all these other unknowns in the world. Even the Volturi seemed pesky in comparison. Meanwhile, I remembered something Rogue had said when first explaining this demon to us so I asked her about it:

"Rogue, you mentioned that it all made sense to you now. What did you mean?" She turned around and looked at me.

"Well think about tonight's party. It was supposed to be for writers only and yet there were all these random Wall Street investors that had nothing at all to do with books or publishing. Then there were all the disappearances into Julia's back office which when I think hard about; only the investors disappeared not the writers. Plus when we first arrived at the party remember my thinking how well Julia was dressed as well as the impeccable decor around their office or "penthouse"? No way can they afford that publishing a few works a year. They own at least one Maserati. Not a cheap vehicle to own or maintain. The money; where is it coming from?"

          She stopped there and let us start arranging the puzzle pieces in our heads ourselves. Bella being our resident puzzle queen with both real and fake puzzles got up:

"So you're saying the-that Julia O'Leary or the Sloo-whatever demon I can't pronounce, ate the brains of the investors in order to get the information on trading secrets, stocks, and such?"

"Exactly." Rogue answered.

"That's genius!" Emmett said loudly and then sat back down when we looked at him like he had two heads.

"Ok ok, genius but diabolically immoral and insane. Not to mention really gross." He corrected himself quickly. I think this is where Nessie would insert an "smh" or "face palm" or something teeny-bopper of that effect.

"Ok all that aside, aren't these people going to be reported missing if they don't show up for work on Monday by their families?" I asked worriedly. That would also explain why the Feds would be all interested in the paranormal all of a sudden.

"Possibly." Rogue said reading my mind.

"But also, knowing the Sloulah; they cover their trail really well. They wouldn't pick noticeable targets. Meaning people that could disappear without a trace and not be very looked for. Plus not so sure now of the coincidence of that earthquake helps with the cover story." Alexander spoke for the first time.

"How do you know so much about demons anyways?" Jacob asked.

"It was part of our Watchers' training back in the very beginning. We had to take this whole massive course on demonology; got the books and everything up in Rogue and Alexander's attic now." Amy piped up.

"So you think the earthquakes and tremors are related somehow to these Sloulah demons and their brain pillaging?" Jasper asked.

"It's all related somehow. I just can't put my finger on it. But I somehow feel that everything is connected and the picture is just so much bigger than this but I can't see it for some reason." Rogue said her eyes narrowing as she turned her back to us again as she gazed at the dark night sky.

          As we set there in our living room with Nessie who rejoined us halfway through Rogue's last speech, in total silence.....we all felt the same thing.

Something was off. Way off.

~Carlisle Cullen