Welcome to my first ever CREATURE FEATURE! It is a blog series that I will be running whenever I have a paranormal romance series that I’m publishing. Everybody does the creature lore just a little differently, and I wanted to take a little time to explain the features of each creature (heh) so readers can get a feel for them before they read. Or after. Consider it bonus content.

Onward!

Demons feature heavily on my paranormal romance series, The Hunt. In fact, they are the primary species of creature that you’ll meet!

Natives to the underworld realm of Hell, demons are humanoid creatures who serve the fallen angel Lucifer. In Hell, you’ll find demons with full black eyes, horns, claws, and skin of varying shades (though grey is the predominant coloring). In order to make themselves palatable when they live on Earth, the hell-gates that transport them between worlds are enchanted to give them a human alter-ego.

Demons live in a hierarchical society. Not only are they ranked by their family name, but they are also ranked by abilities. Specialized demons like chaos demons and magic-wielders (ie. witches) sit comfortably at the top. Demons without any special abilities rank in the middle and make up the majority of the demon world. The lower rungs of the ladder consist of demons who’s strength and abilities are reliant on others—including incubi and succubi, who gain strength directly from humans. Vampires are also natives to Hell, and are considered a demonic sub-species.

By comparison with humans, demons are physically stronger, have a higher pain tolerance, and slightly heightened senses. In Hell, their bodies are nearly indestructible, and can quickly heal even after sustaining intense damage. On Earth, demons operate at about 50-60% of their full abilities, even less if they, like our hero Severus, must rely on humans to stay strong. The farther away from a hell-gate the demon settles, the more their power decreases.

Demons have a range of viewpoints when it comes to their human neighbours. Some, like Severus, are keen to integrate within their society. Others view them as a lesser species, and some see them as mere playthings. Hybrid children are generally ignored by their demon parent, and are only rarely offered a rank within the clan. Most of the time, hybrids are flat-out scorned, as most believe a hybrid is a demon watered down by a lesser being.

All demons, no matter their title or rank, have an affinity for cruelty and punishment. They enjoy delving into human vices, and most delight in damning as many souls as they can.

While high on the supernatural food chain, demons can be killed by angels, and therefore harbor a healthy fear of their winged counterparts.