Slawter
Slawter is the third book in the series of The Demonata (4th chronologically) written by Darren Shan. Even though all the Demonata books can be read separately this book follows on from the 1st in the series, Lord Loss and the 2nd in the series, Demon Thief. The protagonist is Grubbs (Grubitsch) Grady, who was also the protagonist for Lord Loss.
Plot
This book is set a few months after Lord Loss takes place. When the story takes place Dervish, who has just returned from his battle with Lord Loss, is having mental problems. He has terrible nightmares and he attacks Grubbs in his sleep.
A horror movie producer named Davida Haym offers Dervish a chance to work on the set of her new movie, "Slawter". "Slawter" is about demons. He quickly accepts the job thinking that it will be a good chance to help restore his sanity. Grubbs soon finds out that Davida has made a deal with Lord Loss that if she gets Dervish and Grubbs to work on the movie, she can film them live giving her the movie of her life. But when Dervish, Grubbs, Bill-E and a psychologist named Juni Swan try to escape, the demons knock them out and put them in a dream world in which Bill-E is captured by the Lambs so they can learn the secrets of how his Lycanthropy was cured.
Dervish, along with Shark and Sharmila (both in Demon Thief) invade the Lambs complex and demand the return of Bill-E Spleen. The Lambs refuse so they invade the complex and rescue Bill-E. Grubbs then realises too many convenient facts, including Shark happening to see the blueprints, the fact that they could use such powerful magic when no windows to the Demonata's universe were open, and the fact that the complex was an exact replica of Hannibal Lector's cell.
He wakes up and finds himself in a small room in one of buildings that make up the town Slawter. Dervish and Bill-E are also in the room with him and he uses magic to wake them up. Juni is not with them and they presume her to be dead. The three of them then run into the town trying to warn people to get away by saying there is a gas leak and the town will explode soon.
No one heeds their warnings and Davida sets the Demons upon the unwilling cast and crew, but Lord Loss then betrays her and kills her. Most of the actors fight back - thinking this is a plot change - but soon realise its not and are killed. The three of them run and try to lure a demon closer to the invisible force field that surrounds the town so they can blow it up, making a hole in the wall and allowing them to escape. To do this they leave a sheepish Bill-E in an alley to attract a weak demon.
Finally, one does come, after a girl named Bo Kooniart (who they previously disliked and who's father was in on Davida Haym's plot), a girl called Katrin and three boys see them and run to them while being chased by a giant bee-like demon. Dervish and Grubbs subdue it but suddenly Juni reappears and kills it. To get another, Grubbs, Bo and Katrin all lure a demon into chasing them, but are unlucky when Lord Loss finds them. Artery and a new cockroach-demon called Gregor are with them and they run but Katrin is soon killed off causing Grubbs and Bo to weep for her, which makes Lord Loss stronger. They eventually find the edge but Dervish is not there. Suddenly Dervish and Juni appear from under an invisibility shield and distract Lord Loss so Grubbs can move Gregor to the barrier and Juni is about to kill him before she is struck by Gregors leg.
Grubbs manages to open a window by killing Gregor but has to battle Lord Loss and Artery. Dervish attacks Lord Loss with the people he helped get through.Bill-E pulls a merely unconscious Juli through.→ Grubbs then sees that Demons can get through so the creates another hole that only humans can get through. Grubbs then has to battle multiple demons to buy time for the people here. He realises he has power that he never knew he had, even the power to injure Lord Loss so Dervish can get out. Grubbs then runs out after Dervish and the window closes. An unlucky few are still trapped inside and Lord Loss then slaughters them brutally. They realise that Bo did not make it out of the bubble surrounding Slawter as she went to try and save her father. They then see Davidas assistant director Chuda sitting there and Grubbs almost kills him but Bill-E stops him. Then Juni kills him with magic she never knew she had until fighting in the bubble. Later, they find that Juni has gone, and left a note saying that she had to be alone for a while after what she had done, and didn't want to be contacted.
Back at Dervish's house, Dervish tells Grubbs about what his future would be if he did have magic. This causes Grubbs subconscious to hide his magic, even though Dervish said it was impossible. When Dervish scans Grubbs for magic powers he thinks he has none, but in truth, Grubbs had hid them without knowing. Later he decides to check if he did have powers, and managed to switch the light on and off without using the switch and make his reflection disappear. To have the power to conceal his powers from Dervish and to use magic in the real world away from any demons can only mean one thing - Grubbs is a magician.
Trivia
- During the fight with Lord Loss nearing the end, Lord Loss tells Grubbs and Bo the name of the Cockroach demon (Gregor). This is a reference to the short story, Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, in which the main character, Gregor turns into a giant cockrach.