In Demon Spring, The International Coalition for Demon Management (or ICDM) is the governmental body in charge of human-demon interactions. As a former government consultant, I always delight in writing woefully bureaucratic organizations that are full of acronyms and make little sense (see Razia). Because it’s such a large part of Jack and Cam’s story, I thought I’d do a blog post about them!

International vs. National

To begin, there are really two separate organizations. First, there’s ICDM, which represents a global consortium. And there’s the US Division, which is a part of ICDM, but also wholly separate. Sound confusing? I based it on our military structure. So of course it’s confusing!

ICDM, the international body, focuses on policy, country-to-country mediation, and basically serves as the liaison between the powerful demons and humanity. Think of it like a better-functioning UN.

The US Division, on the other hand, is exactly that–the division of ICDM based in the US. They’re a branch of the federal government, headquartered in D.C., and set US-level policy and management for demons. From there, there’s state-level offices and city-level offices, like Atlanta. Local agents like Jack and Cam work with their chain of command to keep the peace.

The Council of Fifteen

The main force behind ICDM is the Council of Fifteen. Jack’s grandfather George is the US and Canadian Councilman, and Cam’s great aunt Maria is the Councilwoman from Mexico and Central America. Although there are only a limited number of seats, each country still has their own Division

  1. United States/Canada
  2. Mexico / Central America
  3. South America
  4. Western Europe
  5. Middle East
  6. North Africa
  7. Central Africa
  8. South Africa
  9. Eastern Europe
  10. Russia
  11. China
  12. India
  13. Northern Pacific
  14. Southern Pacific
  15. Australia

Managing Demons

Jack has a line in the book:”It kind of sounds like we work for Bael” and to an extent, that’s true. The King of the Demons lords over all demons top-side and in the Underworld. As far as the humans are concerned, the Division has several jobs. First, they mediate disputes between demon lords. Second, they investigate coerced transitions; that is, humans that have been hoodwinked into becoming demons. Many times, there’s nothing Division agents can do. The demons are fairly sneaky about providing contracts after-the-fact, or contracts signed while the human is under their spell.

So the last job of the Division is to educate the masses on demons, the signs of demon magic, and making sure they don’t get coerced. Check out this awesome PSA video to learn more:

Resurgence, the first book in the Demon Spring trilogy, is an urban fantasy novel.Buy the first book in the Demon Spring trilogy

Demon hunter Jack Grenard’s life changed three years ago when his wife was brutally murdered by the very demons he’d been hunting. At the urging of his partner Cam Macarro, he’s starting a new life in Atlanta, hoping he’ll find the man he used to be. But on a routine hunt, they come across a new type of demon–one that saves instead of kills.

Meanwhile, demons across Atlanta are preparing for the quadrennial uprising of their Underworld brethren. Worse yet, there’s a rumor the so-called king of the demons, Bael, will appear for the first time in over a century. Jack and Cam must uncover the truth about the mystery woman before all hell–literally–breaks loose.

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