The portal cracked the very fabric of reality, splintered the concept of spacetime, and burned a small black singe onto the delicate curtains.

I stepped forth into the realm of Man, burning the flooring under my hoofs. The smell of melting vinyl made me gag with demonic pleasure.

"WHO HAS SUMMONED ME?" I declared, scanning the small room for the warlock or wizard that had...

"Oh, that would be me, dear." A soft voice called from the corner.

I turned to see an old woman, who I had mistaken for a pile of blankets originally. This must have been some witch, disguising herself as an elderly woman for some pleasantly nefarious reason.

"WHAT BUSINESS DO YOU WISH, WITCH?" I snarled, slinging spittle across the room. Tiny holes burned through whatever my satanic saliva touched.

"I wanted to share some pictures of my grandchildren." She said, patting an album on her lap. "They just went trick-or-treating, and my daughter mailed me some photos of their costumes."

I stormed across the room, scraping my horns along the ceiling as I did. I stopped when I was almost touching her outermost lap blanket.

"AND YOU WISH TO KNOW WHAT PRICE THEIR SOULS WOULD-"

The woman shook her head, which curiously had no affect on her hair. "Oh no, I was just proud of them."

She opened the album to the last page, revealing a smiling family of four celebrating my most holy of holidays. "See? Timmy here was a cowboy, and little Jessica was a fairy!"

I squinted at the images. "I DO NOT UNDERSTAND, MORTAL. WHY DID YOU SUMMON ME?"

"Well, I didn't really feel up to going down to the cafeteria with the album." She said, turning the page. "I have a hard time carrying things and using my walker at the same time. My son in law offered to build a basket for the handles here, but just between you and me, he's not very good at making things, bless his heart."

I tilted my head, driving a horn through the ceiling above us. The woman's expression didn't change as she was showered with ceiling debris.

"YOU RISK YOUR MORTAL SOUL TO CONVERSE WITH A DEMON... FOR THIS?" I asked, bewildered.

"MARGARET!" A voice shouted from above. "You're going to pay to fix my floors, do you hear me?"

I pointed a finger above me. A jet of hellfire erupted from my claws, sending a pillar of the fires of creation through the ceiling.

The complaining ceased.

"This is my daughter holding Jessica when she was born." The woman said, flipping to the next page. "They had to use a surrogate, thats why she's standing so soon afterwards. The poor girl lost her uterus to cancer shortly after-"

"YOU HAVE NO ADDITIONAL MOTIVATION? NO BLOOD PACT, NO SCHEME OR PLOT OR NEFARIOUS INTENTS?" I asked, ignoring the fire alarm that now blared around us.

"Oh heavens no!" She said, clutching a necklace of pearls around her neck. "I would never want someone to get hurt on my account, Jesus willing."

I lurched backwards, struck with pain by the mention of that name. "DO NOT SPEAK THE NAME ALOUD!" I growled, clutching my ears with both of my claws.

"Lord forgive me, I didn't mean to cause any harm!" She said. "Do you need medical attention? I can push my first aid button here, it brings up an ambulance from Saint Peter's Hospital down-"

I staggered back, clutching my chest. "PLEASE! CEASE YOUR INFERNAL WORDS!" I begged.

The woman pulled a small black box from her jacket, and pressed a large red and white button.

"This is Mary with Saint Peter's Medical, do you need assistance?"

I screamed, shattering all of the glass within my sight. "IT HURTS! STOP!" I cried, reaching behind me to the portal still crackling in the air.

"I hear you, we have dispatched an ambulance to your location. Please remain on the line, I will walk you through this." The voice from the box said. "Do you have anyone you'd like for us to contact on your behalf?"

The woman perked up. "Oh, yes! Could you ask Father O'Malley if he received my-"

I turned, and leapt through the portal, sealing it behind me. I found myself surrounded by concerned faces, baring their fangs in sympathy.

"Demon hunter?" Beelzebub asked, skittering towards me on his many feet.

I shook my head. "I don't know what that......THING was."

The demon looked at the closed portal, then snapped an order at the lesser demons. "Seal the portal, and cast it into the pit. We shall allow no more of our brethren to be harmed by this warrior."

I curled into a ball as the minions got to work, and sobbed.

/r/SlightlyColdStories for more