A summary of Alexey Pekhov’s "Golden Bonfires"

This book is the third part of the fantasy story about Ludwig van Normayenne. Written in 2012, it contains six interconnected stories. Ludwig is a guardian. Guardians hunt dark souls. Souls are the ghosts of evil people who remain on earth and feed on fear.

The book belongs to the Guardian series. It is preceded by the novels Guardian and Auto-da-Fé. The book The Cursed Horn concludes the story.

Crucified

Ludwig searches for his missing friend Hans. His search leads the guardian to the foot of the Crystal Mountains. He finds only old bones. The local peasants were afraid to bury the guardian on holy ground. Ludwig digs a grave himself. Then he decides to follow Hans’s path into the mountains. His companions are the bright-hearted Preacher and the dark-spirited Scarecrow. Scarecrow is a living scarecrow in a soldier’s uniform with a sharp sickle.

On a mountain trail, Ludwig encounters Roman. This man is dressed as a gypsy but wears the ring of the Legate of the Church. Soon they are attacked by a rougarou, a terrifying werewolf. Ludwig shoots it with a crossbow. The monster manages to bite Roman. Ludwig cuts out the heart of the slain rougarou. A guard brews a healing potion from the heart. The gypsy drinks the brew and survives. The beast’s blood changes him, but Roman retains his sanity. The gypsy advises the guard to question the Inquisition.

Ludwig reaches a closed mountain monastery. It is the home of the Kalikwet order. The monks master combat magic. In the monastery, Ludwig investigates the strange suicide of Brother Incik. The Guardian discovers a hidden entrance to secret catacombs. Dozens of murdered Kalikwet lie underground. Ludwig encounters a dark soul there. It is a crucified monk. The monk reveals the truth. The Kalikwet killed Hans for asking uncomfortable questions. The soul of the crucified man takes revenge on his executioners. The Guardian destroys this phantom with his dagger.

Lesser evil

The roads of Chergiya are fraught with danger. The country suffers from a brutal civil war. Ludwig accompanies a large wagon. It carries three young hussars: Mariusz, Radek, and Wojtek. The wagon is carrying gold for Prince Gorlowitz’s mercenaries. Along the way, they are attacked by robbers. The bandits use a chigizu, a vile dark soul that obeys certain individuals. Ludwig burns the chigizu with a magical sign. The hussars kill the bandits. Scarecrow deals with the escaped sorcerer.

The group arrives at a military camp. The city of Morow is besieged by the prince’s army. Ludwig meets with Pavel, Master of the Guard. Pavel takes Ludwig hunting in the burned-out town of Zhdanovichi. There, the guards battle a demon and a flock of talkers. Talkers are creatures that drive people mad with their whispers. Inquisitor Father Mart arrives just in time to help the guards. The powerful inquisitor helps drive away the demon.

Later, Ludwig finds a secret informant for the Inquisition. His name is Jiri. Jiri knows about the gypsies and the dark dagger. Ludwig helps Jiri and his family escape from Morow. They sail on a raft along an underground river. Ludwig fends off an attack by a slug — a cave-dwelling dark soul. Once free, Jiri removes his hood. The informant turns out to be the rebellious Prince of Morow, Mlishek Žirotinec. Ludwig realizes the deception. The Inquisition secretly aided the prince’s escape for its own political motives.

Blade of Rain

Ludwig arrives in the city of Steinland. He is attacked by assassins at night. The guard fights them off and kills all three. In his room, he finds Gertrude. Gertrude is a powerful witch and Ludwig’s lover. She has transformed her appearance with magic. The witch bears bad news: the Order of Righteousness has begun hunting the guards. The Order’s lawmen are searching for a unique boy. The boy possesses a powerful gift. The old guard, Joseph, took him from the lawmen.

Ludwig and Gertrude secretly leave the city. They hire a stagecoach. The guards jump off while it’s moving. The sorcerer Tim is waiting for them in the forest. Tim carries the fugitives on a sleigh. The sleigh is pulled by a giant magical rooster. They fly through the sky. The rooster lands on a frozen lake. On the shore, the guards meet a boy named Erik. Erik is stubborn, but agrees to go with them.

They are pursued on the frozen lake by dark sentient beings. They resemble eerie snowmen. The snowmen are enormous and powerful. Ludwig and Gertrude use up almost all their magic. They don’t have the strength to defeat all the monsters. Suddenly, Eric uses an unknown magical figure. The snowmen crumble to dust. The boy has saved everyone.

The group reaches Joseph’s house. There they find members of the Order. Ludwig and Gertrude kill the enemies. Joseph is seriously wounded. Gertrude tries to save him. The old man dies from blood loss. The guards and Eric leave for the city of Erinbraug. There, Inquisitor Marquette finds them. He wants to take Eric away. But Gertrude had made arrangements with the Duke beforehand. The Duke takes the boy under official protection. The Order leaves empty-handed. Eric remains with the Brotherhood.

The Devil’s Concubine

Ludwig heads to the town of Derfeld. He’s looking for the lawyer Francesca. She’s not in town. Ludwig goes to neighboring Villachburg to find her. There, he meets a guard nicknamed the Lion Cub. The Lion Cub is an old friend of Ludwig’s. The friends take shelter at an inn. A terrible winter storm begins. The town is cut off from the outside world by deep snow.

Sitting in the hall with them are the theology student Hendrik, the silk merchant’s wife, a pilgrim, and an old woman. That night, the gates of hell open in the local church. The local innkeeper decided to scare the burgomaster. He summoned a demon. The innkeeper failed to perform the ritual. A giant demon, Tsekutul, emerges from the gates. Tsekutul kills almost all the parishioners in the church.

The second demon appears right at the inn. It’s the "Devil’s Concubine." She appears as a naked woman with a shark-like mouth. The demoness is searching for an escaped dark soul. The soul has hidden in the body of a local woman. Ludwig and Lion Cub agree to help the demoness.

The friends find the soul. It turns out this soul is pure. It ended up in hell by mistake. The bright soul leaves the body and dissolves into the sky. The demoness becomes enraged. She attacks the guards. Hendrik and the merchant’s wife recite true prayers. Their faith is so strong that it strikes the demoness as if with a heavy hammer. The monster falls back into hell. Tsekutul is killed by Ludwig. A guard drops a huge cross from the church roof onto the monster. The surviving Hendrik decides to become an inquisitor.

Kiss of Death

Ludwig returns to Marzdam. He is secretly hired by the brothel manager and the bastard son of the Burgrave of Nomann. The Burgrave himself died suddenly in his bed. The bastard shows Ludwig the guardian’s dagger. This dagger had been in his father’s hiding place. Ludwig recognizes the weapon: it is the blade of his missing friend Christina.

A guard examines the dead burgrave. He finds traces of dark magic — the "Kiss of Death." The burgrave was killed by a powerful witch. Father Sebastian intervenes. This inquisitor is small in stature but very clever. Sebastian uncovers a terrible secret. The burgrave killed a young nun. The abbess tried to cover up the crime. One of the sisters decided to avenge her friend. She used magic, but made a mistake. The kiss killed the father instead of the son.

The Inquisitor blows up the gates of the Poor Clares’ monastery. Sebastian arrests all the nuns. The real witch, Sister Cecilia, escapes through a secret door. Ludwig sees her but lets her go. Later, a guard finds the bastard un Nomann dead. Cecilia has completed her revenge. Ludwig takes the "eyes of the seraph" from the burgrave’s collection. These are two black stones. The dark smith uses such stones to forge cursed daggers. Inquisitor Sebastian finds Ludwig in his study. The Inquisitor takes the stones for himself but dismisses the guard.

Golden Bonfires

Ludwig’s journey leads to the southern town of Cruso. The roads are clogged with thousands of pilgrims. A little blind girl in Cruso claims to have seen an angel. Crowds of people wish to touch the holy footprint on the stone. Ludwig arrives in the town and finds the Church of St. Michael.

An organist works inside the church. It’s Christina, Ludwig’s former partner. She lost fingers on her hand and gave up her dagger. Christina has allied herself with the sorcerer Walter. Walter is Ludwig’s longtime enemy. They want to find and kill the dark blacksmith. Walter considers the blacksmith’s plan insane. The blacksmith is collecting the guardians’ daggers to open the gates of hell.

Ludwig learns the truth about the miracle. The angel’s footprint is a clever fake. Walter created the illusion. He lured Cardinal Urban to Cruso. The cardinal has another "seraph’s eye" on his chest. The sorcerer wants to steal this stone. Walter asks Ludwig for the legate’s ring. The ring will allow him to pass through the guards. Ludwig agrees to play along. He wants to protect Christina.

The solemn mass begins. Cardinal Urban comes out to the congregation. Suddenly, a terrible explosion rings out. Golden flames engulf the square. Hundreds perish in the fire. Ludwig and the gypsy Roman rescue the cardinal. The Inquisition brutally tortures the captured conspirators. Roman releases Ludwig.

At night outside the city, Ludwig finds Christina. She is mortally wounded by golden fire. The Dark Blacksmith found them first. The sorcerer Walter fled. Christina dies in Ludwig’s arms. Before she dies, she reveals the main secret. The Dark Master is hiding in the Kalikwet monastery. He is the very monk who forged all the Light Daggers for the Brotherhood. Ludwig gives Christina her blade. She falls into eternal sleep. The story ends here, but Ludwig’s long journey continues. The golden fires slowly fade in the darkness. The Guardian must find the blacksmith at any cost.