Demons exist, both in the physical and spiritual world.
They are arranged into hierarchies according to their degree
of power. There is probably a ruling demon, someone you
really don’t want to conjure up, but I’d suspect the
position changes hands, much like leadership roles in our
world." — Paige, from Dime
Store Magic
"Among all the various levels, from courtier to archduke,
you have your good demons and your bad demons, or to use the
correct terminology, eudemons and cacodemons. When I say
‘good’ demons, or eudemons, I don’t mean they run around
helping people in our world. Most demons couldn’t give a
damn about us. By eudemons, I’m referring to those who don’t
actively seek to screw up the human world. more
accurate description would be chaotic and non-chaotic
demons. ‘Chaotic’ demons or cacodemons are almost
exclusively the kind who come into contact with the rest of
us. A sorcerer or witch could summon a eudemon, but most of
us know so little about demonology that we wouldn’t know a
eudemon from a cacodemon anyway. Even if one said he was a
eudemon, he’d probably be lying. A wise spellcaster abjures
conjuring altogether." — Paige, from
Dime Store Magic
"That’s not what you really want to know,
is it?" Adam said. "At least, that’s not the good part, not
who we are, but what we are, right? Though
it’s probably better to explain the two separately or it
ends up sounding like an AA meeting for the damned. ‘Hi, my
name is Adam and I’m a half-demon’."
"A half
. . .?" I said.
"Exactly what it sounds like. Mom’s human. Dad’s the
living embodiment of absolute evil. Luckily, I got my looks
from mom’s side. My father’s not exactly GQ material. Don’t
ask me what my mother was thinking. Obviously one too many
tequila shots that night."
"Demons take human form to rape or seduce human women,"
Paige said. "Half-demons are always human in appearance.
They inherit other qualities from their fathers. Each has
different powers, depending on the type of demon that sired
them."
"The X-Men of the underworld," Adam said.
— from Stolen
"One way cacodemons like to cause trouble in our world is
by fathering babies. They’re pretty darned keen on the sex
part, too. To do so, they take human form, having found that
any woman with less than a 40 oz bottle of whiskey coursing
through her bloodstream does not respond favorably to
seduction by large, scaled, cloven-hoofed beasts.
To be honest, we don’t know what a demon’s true form is,
and it probably bears no resemblance to the cloven-hoofed
monster of myth. When they come into the physical world,
they take the shape of whatever will accomplish their goal.
Want to scare seduce a young woman? Pull out the old
‘drop-dead gorgeous twenty-year-old male’ disguise. My
advice to young women who like to pick up guys in singles
bars? Condoms prevent more than venereal disease.
Half-demons inherit the main power of their fathers.
Elemental control, teleportation, telekinesis and telepathy
are common, as are enhancements of regular human abilities,
such as strength, sight and hearing. This power manifests
itself sometime between the ages of twelve and twenty,
though you may see precursors of it earlier than that."
— Paige, from Dime Store Magic
"The degree of power depends on the demon’s ranking within
the hierarchy. Take the so-called fire demons. An Igneus can
induce only first-degree burns. An Aduro can induce burns
plus ignite flammable objects. An Exustio, like Adam, can
not only burn and ignite, but incinerate. The number of
demons decreases per level. There are probably a dozen
Igneus demons out there making babies. There is one Exustio,
meaning Adam probably has only two or three ‘siblings’ in
the world." — Paige, from Dime Store Magic
"Jealousy," Matasumi said. "Within the half-demon hierarchy Leah has
higher standing."
"Are they aware of this hierarchy?" I asked. "I thought
half-demons didn’t have much contact with one another. They
don’t have any central or ruling group, right? So how do
they know who has what status?"
Silence.
After a moment Matasumi said, "At some level, I’m sure
they’re aware of their status."
"An Agito demon ranks over an Evanidus, Xavier’s sire,
Bauer said. "And an Exustio ranks over both. That’s Adam
Vasic’s sire, right? An Exustio?"
"Never came up in conversation, surprisingly."
— from Stolen
— note: Matasumi is wrong here on two counts. Leah,
as we learned later, was a Volo not an Agito. And an
Agito does not outrank an Evanidus. They're both
mid-level half-demons.
A few final notes on hierarchy, details implied more than
stated in the books. Some of the rarer half-demons
(e.g. Ferratus) have no hierarchy of varying powers.
For those types that do, there is no way of telling what
level a given half-demon has until he/she manifests a level
of power indicating a higher rank. Therefore in
Stolen, although Robert Vasic believes Adam is an Exustio,
no one knows for certain until he actually incinerates
something. A half-demon reaches his/her full potential
through a combination of physical maturity and practice.
Therefore, half-demons who never hone their powers could go
through life believing they belong to a lower group.
Similarly, at the bottom level, these half-demons could go
through life never realizing they are anything but
human...or humans with slight paranormal powers or
inexplicable obsessions. For example, a bottom level
fire half-demon (Igneus), might send off the odd spark or
two, or could become a pyromaniac—obsessed with fire, but
not knowing why.
Is this a complete list? Nope. These are only the
half-demon subtypes used in first four novels of the series.
There are others (ice under elemental, telepathic under dimensional and
auditory under physical, plus a couple of others), but I won't include them here until I've introduced a
character example in the series.
Able to produce fire via physical contact. Levels increase the degree of heat
produced. Emotional duress can unwittingly cause shows of
power (i.e. fire demons literally have a hot temper!)
As the levels increase, powers are cumulative (i.e. an Exustio
can produce first, second OR third degree burns)
Otherworld characters - Adam Vasic (Exustio)
Igneus - can causes first degree burns, may be able to produce sparks
Aduro - can cause second degree burns, can ignite flammable material
Exustio - can cause third degree burns, can incinerate objects
'The name, like many half-demon cognomens, tipped into melodrama
and bordered on false advertising. A Tempestras couldn’t summon
storms. He could, however, control the weather within his
immediate vicinity, calling up wind, rain or, if he was really
good, lightning. He could also, like Troy, do something as small
but practical as keeping rain off his windshield. "
— Paige, from Industrial Magic
Otherworld characters - Robert Vasic, Troy Morgan
Able to displace/move objects without contact or other physical means.
Levels increase range, object size and displacement distance.
Telekinetic demons have a 'tell' something they do before moving
an object (e.g.. Leah made a fist). Power decreases as
temper/frustration rises (i.e. lose concentration).
Displacement distance and force decreases with size/weight of
object. (e.g.. Leah can shift a car only inches, but can hurl a
book across a room with enough force to cause injury)
Otherworld characters: Leah O'Donnell (Volo)
Migro
- range: within sight
- object size: small (approx 10 lb max)
- displacement distance: minimal (less than 6 inches)
Agito
- range: within sight
- object size: not larger/heavier than self
- displacement distance: approx max 10 feet
Volo
- range: approx 50 yards (if not in sight,
must be able to picture object and its placement)
- object size: pretty much anything not nailed down
- displacement distance: approx. max 20 feet
Able to displace/move self instantaneously. Levels increase target range,
direction and displacement distance.
Otherworld characters: Xavier Reese (Evanidus)
Tripudio
- target range: within sight
- direction: horizontal only
- displacement distance: approx max 12 inches, would appear as a quick move, not teleportation
Evanidus
- range: within sight
- target range: anywhere within displacement distance
- direction: horizontal only
- displacement distance: approx max 10 feet
Abeo
- target range: anywhere within displacement distance
- direction: horizontal and vertical
(i.e. could teleport to second floor or basement when possible)
- displacement distance: approx. max 50 feet
Enhanced visual abilities.
Levels increase the number of powers rather than range or acuity,
and are cumulative (i.e. an Aspicio also has the powers of an
Acies and a Conspicio). Powers are not a permanent
enhancement, but must be invoked and require full concentration to maintain.
Otherworld characters: Eve Levine
Acies
- enhanced visual range (can see distant objects more clearly)
Conspicio
- can induce temporary blindness
Aspicio
- can see through solid objects (produces a small window of 'x-ray vision')
"Not one of the more common half-demons. So rare, in fact,
that I had to translate the name from Latin before I remembered
it. Ferratus. Iron-plated. A one-trick half-demon, but that one
trick was a doozy. When a Ferratus half-demon invoked his power,
his skin became as hard as iron. No wonder Benicio had snapped up
Griffin from the St. Clouds. He was the perfect bodyguard . . .
and the last guy you’d want going on a rampage." — Paige, from
Industrial Magic
Otherworld characters: Griffin Sorenson
