There is a legend told that, if the dragon serving as a protector for a country passes into the next world, demons take over. Jake Long, the American dragon, along with his grandfather and friends Trixie and Spud, passed sometime during an ill-fated battle with the Huntsclan. With the protector of New York City deceased, two twin demons were instructed to carry on in his place.
Demons have been slandered against by both the human Christian community and the magical world. It has been said that, whenever a human dies, they are doomed to life as a demon, residing with Satan. For magical creatures, the rumors are more terrifying. Offspring of minute creatures such as pixies and brownies are told that demons will eat them, and such fables are told about demons stealing and eating griffin eggs.
Such lies are embarrassing to the demon race, in fact their personalities differ. It is not doubtful there were some of that species that terrorized the magical creatures, but it is a very common and untrue misconception that demons were once humans. Demons cannot change their appearance as dragons do, they must administer a nightly concoction to continue the human façade.
Going back to the tale of the once-human demons, it is not entirely inconceivable. Demons very closely resemble humans, with the exception of their skin colors (which vary by demon, not by region as humans are), and a tail that is as long as the demon is tall. The extra appendage is commonly used for restraining threats, for example tripping a poacher. Another difference between demons and humans are the horns that are atop a demon's head. For female demons, the horns go down the back and stop at the beginning of the spine. For males, the horns more closely resemble that of a bull's.
There are normally three types of demons, with the exception of the rare demon that may exist. There are fire demons, water demons, and Seer demons. Seer demons are named for their, although this is not the limit of their powers, psychic abilities. Other powers are: teleportation, telepathy (something all types of demons have, yet for the first few years of their training they can only communicate with their master/mistress), the ability to siphon energy from one being to another, but only if both parties (the one receiving the energy as well as the one donating it) consent.
Typically, once a fire or water demon turns twenty-five he or she is given the choice of retaining their elemental powers or moving up in the ranks to a Seer demon. Seer demons are mainly responsible for protecting their cities and raising their demon students. It is tradition for the demon children's parents to hand over the egg, or in some cases eggs, to a tutor of their choice.
Sometimes, however, it is not by choice. Occasionally, demons are murdered for their reptilian skin to be used to make wallets and sold on the black market. Oftentimes, they are murdered by the Huntsclan for sport. That, dear reader, is what happened to the parents of the new protectors of New York City.
It was raining hard as the lavender-hued demon flew toward her destination, a large rucksack hitting her side occasionally. She prayed silently that the precious cargo that resided in her bag would not be destroyed by the harsh winds. Finally spotting the island where she would land, she dove down, and landed perfectly inside the mouth of a cave.
"Seer Jessica." A wizened demon greeted her newest companion, smiling warmly. The torches in the cave illuminated her wrinkled lime-green face as well as her lemon-yellow eyes. "It has been entirely too long. Where have you been?"
"Visiting my brother….he and my sister-in-law just…"
"Yes, yes, we've heard." The old woman replied sadly. "The only two demons still loyal to New York City, brutally murdered by the Huntsclan."
"I suppose it had to happen, what with the death of the dragon and all."
"It's unavoidable…"
"Hopefully…when these little ones are born…" Jessie motioned toward the two spherical, bulging objects in her bag. "All our troubles will be over."
"Hopefully."
"Um…I've never actually had children of my own…can you clarify the ceremony for me?"
"Certainly. Hand me the bag and I'll take the young ones down to the rookery."
"All right…" Jessie reluctantly handed the bag over to her former master, and although she felt a sense of security around the old woman, was semi-concerned for the well-being of her future nieces.
"Everyone's expecting you down in the dining hall." The old one nodded. "I'll join you there in a second."
"All right…" She had had a long journey, she could use some food. She descended the stairs gracefully down to the dining hall, her wings not quite touching her outfit but not quite fully expanded. Her outfit of choice tonight was a Knicks hooded sweatshirt with gray sweatpants, a hole conveniently placed to fit her tail. There were also two rectangular slits in her hoody to allow her wings space.
"Jessie!" As she approached the dining hall, she was approached by a man wearing jeans and a Chicago Bears jersey.
"Hello, Ricky." Jessie smiled. "How've you been?"
"Fine, fine! And yourself?"
"I'm doing….well, to be honest, not so good…I have to stay here with my nieces."
"Why? What happened?"
"Their parents passed away…"
"Sorry to hear that." Ricky sighed.
"I'm keeping them here until they're fourteen, when they'll be of age to pick their life mates as well as be ready to travel back to New York with me."
"Y'know….if you need someone around, I could…"
"Ricky, no. I'm not in….I can't…"
"Will you at least think about it?" Ricky requested. "C'mon, y'know Old Lady Madeline was always rooting for us to get together." The young man was referring to the woman who had greeted Jessie at the entrance of the cave.
"I'll think on it." Jessie replied. "I'll be busy with demon training if my nieces are to become strong enough to guard an entire city."
"All right…." Ricky sighed.
"But…" Jessie sat down, scooting closer to the man. "They're just little kids now, they won't start training 'til they're about three or four….we could…y'know."
"Like, hang out?"
"Yeah…" Jessie nodded.
Demons grow at an alarming rate, becoming capable of cognitive thought at an extraordinarily early age. Three months after Jessie's arrival on the island, she was awoken by her eldest niece, who had roughly reached the size of a five-year-old human. The small girl snuck past the candles that illuminated the stone-walled room, walking over to her aunt's feather bed.
The little demon had purple skin with orange iris-and-pupil-less eyes, and she also had black hair. She wore a child's size Knicks jersey and dark blue sweatpants, preferring to spend the rest of her time barefoot. "C'mon, up up up!"
"Syd?" Jessie asked groggily. "What is it, honey? What's wrong?"
"Some guy with a dragon skull mask thingy is here with a bunch of ninja-lookin' guys!" Syd breathed frantically.
"Where's your sister?"
"In the rookery with the maids and other kids." Syd explained. "C'mon c'mon c'mon!" She started to fly off until Jessie seized her tail. Syd flapped her wings frantically, trying to get away.
"No, Syd. I don't want you going off, okay? Especially if the Huntsclan's still here…Did you see them kill anyone?"
"Yes ma'am…." Syd replied sadly.
"Who was it?"
"Ricky."
"No…" Jessie gasped, releasing Syd.
"They're trying to find the rookery now."
"We've…we've gotta…we've gotta get to Des and the others…but if they see you…"
"What'm I gonna do, Aunt Jessie?" Syd cocked her head slightly.
"You….you…um…." Jessie looked over and saw her basin of water, which was currently empty. It was rather large, certainly big enough to hold a small child. "You're gonna stay under here, okay?" She put Syd on the table where the basin once lay, and then covered her with the bowl. "Be absolutely quiet, Syd. Don't say a word until you hear my voice again, okay?"
"Okay."
"Promise?"
"I promise, Aunt Jessie."
"Good."
Jessie raced off toward the rookery, coming face to face with the new Huntsmaster, who was in the most technical sense, Huntsmistress. On her head she wore Jake's skull, obscuring her face from view. Jessie gasped as she saw the new leader trying to beat down the door with her staff. Thorn then tried to use her staff as a battering ram, and nearly succeeded when Jessie seized it with her tail. Her wings expanded to their full span, and she soared up to the arched ceiling.
"You want it so bad, Thorn?" Jessie taunted. "Come and get it!" She transferred the staff from her tail to her hands.
"Give it back, demon!"
"Not a chance. You've already destroyed Ricky, I'm not letting you destroy others I love." After hitting the enemy with the 'claw' end of the staff, she opened the rookery doors and grabbed her younger niece, who had curled up and covered herself with her wings.
"Des, sweetie…" Jessie cooed softly. "C'mon, we're goin' to New York City."
"OK…" Des opened her wings enough to pass her hand through and it touched Jessie's, and finally she uncovered her entire body. She was wearing an identical outfit to Syd's, and looked identical with the exception of her dark blue skin.
"God, I hope we can beat the Huntsclan…" Jessie whispered.