"Scarlet on Black" by Tatyana Korsakova, summary Automatic translate

This book is a mystical thriller published in 2016. Events from the past and present are tightly intertwined around the dark secret of an ancient count’s estate and a cursed forest. This book is part of the author’s "Love and Mystery: Novels by Tatyana Korsakova" series and is a collection. Two interconnected novels, "The Darkest Night" and "The Hour Before Dawn," are brought together under one cover.

Camp for troubled teenagers

Sixteen-year-old Denis Kireev, after suffering a vile betrayal from his once close friend, Vadik Ilyushkin, suffers severe physical injuries. A sudden attack by street thugs puts an end to the promising athletic career of a successful karateka. After exacting justified revenge on the offender, his concerned parents send him to the elite "Wolves and Wild Boars" sports and patriotic camp. The camp is located in the former Shapovalov estate near the remote village of Makeyevka.

Here, an embittered young man meets new neighbors in a spacious room in the outbuilding. Stepan Tuchnikov, nicknamed "Tucha," suffers from excess weight and the oppressive despotism of his ambitious oligarch father. Vasily Galyanov, who introduces himself as Galyano, conceals a vulnerable romantic soul behind the brash mask of a self-assured dandy. Matvey Plakhov hides from the melancholy of a painful, unhappy love affair. Camp director Anton Venediktovich Shapovalov and the tough counselor Maxim Suvorov fuel an aggressive feud between the two groups of campers.

A withdrawn girl named Ksanka lives in an old estate. Her wealthy parents left the strange teenager in the care of the local cook, Lydia. During a walk, Tucha finds an antique silver medallion Ksanka dropped. The elegant pendant is skillfully crafted in the shape of a clover leaf. Full of insecurities, the young man possesses a rare gift for finding special objects. Stepan refuses to return the precious item to its owner, succumbing to the inexplicable attraction of the magical artifact.

Secrets of the old estate

Soon, the tough guys from the boar squad come into conflict with Yurik Izmailov and the Golikov brothers from the rival wolf squad. A brawl provoked by the brawl lands Dan and his loyal new friends in solitary confinement. In a damp underground cellar, they discover a cleverly concealed hiding place inside a broken grandfather clock. The curious boys retrieve the thick diary of Andrei Shapovalov, the last legitimate owner of this vast estate.

Secret nighttime readings reveal dark chapters of the distant past to the children. At the beginning of the bloody twentieth century, Andrei’s mother was dying of a serious illness. The mysterious forest healer Leshak eased her physical suffering with a bitter wormwood infusion. Before her imminent death, the exhausted countess extracted a firm promise from her grief-stricken husband to pass on the rich inheritance to her youngest son. The elder brother, Ignat, having learned of his shameful illegitimate descent from a wild forest witch, harbored a dark grudge. Obsessed with power, the young man studied forbidden witchcraft, subjugated wild forest animals, and plotted revenge on his unsuspecting family.

Brotherly rivalry escalated over the most beautiful woman, Zoya Bogolyubova. Andrey’s innocent fiancée became a helpless victim of the treacherous Ignat’s magical spell. The dark sorcerer presented the girl with a charmed antique trefoil pendant. The sinister artifact deprived the unfortunate beauty of her own will and clear mind. After an open quarrel, Ignat abandoned the family estate. The rejected bastard promised to return and destroy his brother.

Wonderful smoke

Today’s inquisitive teenagers are learning about the notorious reputation of the surrounding dense forests. In the deepest reaches of the forest lies the terrifying Chudova scorch (fire hole) — a circular, scorched earth with a dead, charred tree in the center. Local elders whisper of a wandering green fire and a terrifying, dark night. This dark, paranormal season occurs once every 13 years. During this terrifying night, the cursed forest demands fresh human victims.

Dan falls in love with the reclusive Ksanka. The girl reveals her terrifying secret to the brave boy. In critical moments of intense animal fear or blind rage, she gains paranormal, absolute power over physical matter. In winter, with the power of her mind, she melted the thick ice under the feet of the animal abusers who killed her beloved dog. Ksanka suffers from her destructive gift. Observant friends notice that the weak girl is drawn to a mystical, scorched clearing. Cloud repents and returns the silver trefoil to her.

The darkest night comes suddenly. The strict camp counselor Suvorov locks the rebellious boys in solitary confinement. The resourceful teenagers find a secret underground passage and escape. In the night forest, they discover a wounded, bloodied Suvorov. The man was searching for the count’s untold treasure buried in cursed earth. Dan and Galliano rush to the burned-out area, where an exhausted Ksanka hovers in the air within a dense green tornado. From beneath the open ground, a massive coffin, filled to the brim with ancient treasures, rises with a deafening roar. The charred black skeleton of Ignat Shapovalov guards the deposits of cursed gold. The treacherous corpse once became the bloody Red Commissar nicknamed Miracle and was burned alive.

Ksanka holds off an enraged pack of wild wolves with a mighty, weakening effort of will. Dan risks his life and pulls his fragile lover from a scorching mystical fire. A mysterious forest hermit, Uncle Sasha Tourist, emerges into the dark river backwater. Muffled pistol shots ring out in the forest silence. Tourist claims he shot the old, crazed Leshak, and Ksanka drowned in the fast-flowing river. The summer camp is closed. The devastated children return to their homes, suffering incredibly severe emotional trauma.

Return to Makeyevka

Thirteen long years pass. The now-mature Stepan Tuchnikov, having inherited his father’s multi-billion dollar assets, buys and restores the abandoned estate. He gathers his loyal school friends back together. Dan has become a confident, successful businessman, Matvey has opened a private detective agency, and Galliano makes a living as a fashionable private psychoanalyst.

Longtime friends become acquainted with the unique and updated environment of Tucha. A capricious red-haired bride, Angelina, a strikingly cold secretary, Alex Knit, a passionate archivist, Lesya, and a calm doctor, Elena, live in a huge house. Lena, a former attractive nurse at a closed camp, buried her husband, Maxim Suvorov, 40 days ago. The unfortunate man was bludgeoned to death in the depths of the forest with a heavy blunt object. The seasoned heroes decide to track down the insidious killer and unravel the ancient curse of the noble Shapovalov family.

Matvey, possessing a rare mystical ability to see ephemeral ghosts, encounters the restless, rebellious soul of ten-year-old Sasha Shapovalov in the night. The translucent boy shows the professional detective a hidden pouch containing a gray powder made from a rare herb. In the dusty city archives, the clever Lesya discovers the true facts about Dmitry Serov, the real old Leshak. The old man was the grandson of the murdered Count Andrei, and for long, dreary decades he tried to stop the impending bloody resurrection of the dark sorcerer.

Dan finds irrefutable evidence proving the cunning substitution of Ksanka’s dead body. Uncle Sasha Tourist turns out to be the unfortunate girl’s real biological father. The brave man saved his only daughter from the mad Leshak, staged a tragic drowning, and took the girl to distant America. Ksanka survived. The grown-up girl changed her appearance, learned foreign languages, and returned to Russia under the false name Alex Knit. A secretive secretary prepares a plan to completely destroy the Miracle, protecting Dan from a deadly paranormal threat.

The Last Battle

Galliano’s rare psychic gift allows him to see the distant past in the sharp, transparent shards of a broken crystal ball. The evil, restless spirit of Ignat Shapovalov, exactly once every 13 years, attempts to possess the body of any blood relative bearing a birthmark. The dark, cursed soul of the cruel sorcerer seeks a suitable new material vessel for his eternal, undivided power and life on earth.

The unyielding Alex drugs Dan with a powerful sedative and leaves for a deadly battle in the Chudova scorched earth. The quiet Lesya, revealed to be a direct descendant of the cruel and vile henchman Yefim Solovyov, betrays her comrades. Driven mad by a thirst for power, the girl yearns to serve the rebellious Ignat and injects Alex with a paralyzing muscle poison. A huge, aggressive pack of wild forest wolves forms a tight, snarling ring around the scorched clearing, forming a deadly cordon.

Awakened, Dan, along with his loyal comrades, runs to the rescue. The sharp-shooting Matvey fires at the crazed predators with a combat pistol, but the huge, ferocious animals attack from every possible angle. The ghost of the old, deceased Leshak begs Dan to lower his inner mental barriers. Dan allows the spirit of the wise Serov into his strong, young body. The ferocious wolves recognize the true, rightful master of the dark forest and give way before the invisible power.

The ferocious Dan-Leshak fights his way through the dense, suffocating ash storm toward the raised coffin. An ancient, enchanted bone knife appears out of nowhere in the savior’s strong hand. The sharp, magical blade shatters the black, charred bones of the corpse risen from the ashes. His friends, arriving just in time, sprinkle the smoldering remains with a life-saving gray powder made from cinder grass and strike a purifying spark. A roaring white flame consumes Ignat Shapovalov’s black soul. The family’s centuries-old blood curse is broken.

The denouement of the story

Maxim Suvorov’s ruthless killer turns out to be a quiet local gardener named Ilyich. The greedy man dreamed of acquiring the ancient gold and physically eliminated any potential competitors. The dangerous criminal is arrested by local police. Having lost her mind, Lesya is sent to a closed, strict psychiatric clinic for a long period of compulsory drug treatment.

A happy Galliano confesses his long-standing love to Elena, and they begin to build a comfortable future together. The now-mature Tucha marries the repentant and humbled Angelina, and the young, beautiful couple is expecting a long-awaited child. Dan and Alex, who has reclaimed her real name, tearfully forgive each other all their old, painful grievances.

The gloomy Chudova ash clears of centuries-old dead ash, becoming covered with young, vibrant emerald grass. The accursed darkest night will never again descend upon these tranquil lands.