See How She Falls by Michelle Graves

that they were in existence
before man. However, man brought them into fruition. They exist on another
plane and those that are unworthy are sent to suffer an eternity under their
dominion. It is the equivalent of what you believe to be hell," Eleanor,
the ever scholarly, provided.
    “So,
what is it, what demon are they summoning?” I was far too tired to get a
history lesson in what heaven and hell really were. My only concern was what
was coming and how to stop it. I could worry about everything else later. If
there was a later.
    “Sonneillon."
Kennan voice was barely audible as he uttered the name.
    I
was ripped into a vision as soon as the name left Kennan’s lips. Sonneillon,
the name, the promise. I looked down at the battle raging below me. The clouds
split revealing the demon with a clarity I’d never been afforded until now. I
moved down through the parting clouds towards the scene playing out before me.
    The
nearer I drew to the demon, the colder I grew. My soul writhed inside of my
body, longing to escape the oppressive fear the demon’s presence conjured. With
heavy feet I moved closer. I had to know. I had to see.
    I
came as close as I dare to the scene as the demon turned its charred face
towards me. I was rooted in pain as the demons features came into full clarity.
His skin was a crackling blackened charcoal, split like the ground with no
water. A fire raged beneath his skin, turning the cracks into illuminated pools
of lava. My eyes scanned up the body of the demon. Every instinct within me shouted
for me to not look upon its face directly. I fought the urge to look away and
continued to look up and up the giant creature before me.
    Four
arms chorded in dense muscle stretched out from its sides, culminating in razor
sharpened claws. Fighting against every bit of self-preservation, I looked upon
the demon’s face. His empty fathomless eyes locked with mine, causing me to cry
out.
    “NOOOOOOOOO!” 
I fell to my knees as the hate ripped through my soul. Visions flashed before
my eyes. Chaos erupted around me, wars raged, and man fought against man. Every
image that flipped through my mind brought forth more hate and pain. The
emptiness of the eyes, the darkness that walked the earth. It was too much. It
was unbearable. “Make it stop. Make it stop,"  I pleaded, barely
above a whisper.
    The
sounds of deep sickening laughter ripped through me, forcing me into myself.
The pain was unbearable.
    “IZZY!”
Aberto’s shout pulled me from the vision.
    I
found myself on the floor, curled into the fetal position. Tears trailing down
my face as the memories of what the earth would become flashed through my mind.
    “What
does he want? What is it this demon is meant to do?” I choked out.
     “Perhaps
you should see this, Izzy.”  Eleanor moved towards me with the giant tome,
handing it to me opened to a picture of the horror I’d just seen.
    On
the page was a great behemoth of a monster. It stood on two massive clawed feet
and rose broadly into the air on backwards hinged knees. Four thickly chorded
arms jutted out of its muscular sides, ending in talons. Its head looked to be
a combination of a lion and bird with two steer-like horns protruding
backwards. The skin was the deepest black I’d ever seen, with a bright fire
burning from the inside. The eyes were bottomless pools of fire.
    On
paper it was nothing more than an image, a snapshot of the horrors that the
real thing contained. I quickly closed the book, unable to stomach the picture
and the memories it brought forth any longer.
     “What
will happen if that thing makes it through to this plane?”
    “Read
this, it will explain everything.”  Eleanor thrust another manuscript
beneath my nose. The pages were yellowed and tearing from the years of use.
    I
looked down at the pages and held my breath, hoping for the best.
    When
the darkness falls it shall bring with it the scourge of hatred. It shall turn
brother against brother by perverting