"Come into My Dreams" by Tatyana Korsakova, summary Automatic translate

This dramatic mystical novel from 2016 combines historical detective fiction, Ural legends, and a family saga. The most important detail of this book is its inclusion in the extensive "Signs of Fate" series, where ancient magic intertwines with the destinies of people. This work is the sixth in the series and continues the story of the confrontation between man and the mystical Master of the Lake.

Return from the Netherworld

The novel opens with the rescue of former Count Fyodor Shumilin, a state criminal and escaped convict. Aunt Evdokia and the Mari man Kaisy pull him from the icy waters of Strazhevoye Lake. To tame the power awakened within him, Kaisy places a silver bracelet made of Polozova blood on his scorched flesh. Fyodor, who has received new documents in the name of Ignat Vishnyakov, is brutally disfigured by hard labor — he has lost his right eye, his hands are disfigured by burns, and a bullet lodged in his chest from Evdokia’s forced shot, which stopped his madness.

Ignat awakens in the hunting lodge of Stepan, Evdokia’s late husband. Also present is the impoverished architect August Berg, who has become Evdokia’s husband. Ignat demands an answer to the main question: the whereabouts of his beloved wife, Ivy, and the old man, Akim Petrovich. The older comrades hesitate for a long time to reveal the bitter truth, but Kaisy forces Evdokia to open up. It turns out that Ivy disappeared more than five years ago, lost between the worlds of the Upper and Lower Orders.

Augustus’ Confession and the Tragedy on the Island

August Berg falls to his knees before Ignat and confesses to his unwitting betrayal. Years ago, during a drunken binge, he blabbed to his lover, Anfisa, about the secret of the escaped convict Fyodor. Anfisa passed this information on to Sergei Zlotnikov, who orchestrated Shumilin’s arrest. Zlotnikov became the rightful master of Chernokamensk after the mysterious winter death of industrialist Savva Kutasov while hunting. Kutasov’s daughter, Marie, fell from power and became Zlotnikov’s mistress, covering up his crimes.

Evdokia recounts the horrific events of June 1st, a year after Fyodor’s arrest. Zlotnikov and his gang of six sailed to Strazhevoy Kamen Island at night to take Ivy by force. Akim Petrovich, protecting his granddaughter, decided on a desperate measure. Since the Polozova blood bracelet was riveted, the old man chopped off his left hand with an axe to release the serpent’s inhuman strength, and cauterized the stump with coals. In a rage, he destroyed the entire gang, but the seventh member of the attack — Zlotnikov himself — shot the old man in the heart. Ivy, deprived of protection and news of her husband, followed the call of the Lake Guardian, vanishing without a trace.

A train crash and new faces

Meanwhile, the story of young engineer Viktor Andreevich Serov unfolds in St. Petersburg. After a stormy farewell to his friends, he boards a train to Perm, bound for Chernokamensk on a contract to build a lighthouse on Strazhevoye Lake. On the platform, Viktor encounters Anastasia Alekseyevna Shumilina, Fyodor’s blind sister. Nastya has broken off her engagement to her fiancé, Dmitry, after overhearing a conversation in which she learned that he was only interested in her wealth and planned to exile the blind and crippled woman to the countryside while he pursued an actress.

Nastya is accompanied by her faithful orderly, Trofim, and the thieving maid, Glashka. Victor defends the girl from Glashka’s attacks, and Trofim eventually sends her away. En route, the train derails — the carriages derail and burst into flames. Victor demonstrates true courage: he helps Trofim, who was holding onto the remains of the roof, pull Nastya out of the smoke. Serov then rescues Ksenia Strizhova with her baby Venechka and the Great Dane puppy, Theodore. Ksenia becomes Anastasia’s new devoted maid. Arriving in Perm, Nastya gives Victor the silver cigarette case of her supposedly dead brother, Fyodor, as a parting gift. Victor promises to definitely visit her.

Secrets of the Guardian Stone

In Chernokamensk, Ignat gets a job with Zlotnikov’s clerk through Mityai. On the island, construction of Marie Kutasova’s gloomy castle is in full swing. Ignat works tirelessly, concealing his true nature behind the guise of a wretched cripple. August Berg, taking advantage of his reputation for tyranny, hires Ignat as his personal assistant. At night, Ignat transcribes from memory the diagram of the underground labyrinth he saw in the Netherworld.

A new manager arrives in Chernokamensk — the cruel Nazar Sirotin, nicknamed "Sirotka," with his gang of mercenaries. He imposes a harsh regime, crippling workers with his whip. "Sirotka" hates Ignat for his imperturbability. One of Sirotka’s henchmen, "Scar," harbors a mortal grudge against Ignat after he stood up for the Tatar Taybek and broke Scar’s staff.

On the night before the full moon, Ignat and August secretly enter the lighthouse tower. After moving a flat, round stone, they descend into a cave where they discover a gigantic, life-sized silver heart, pulsating in time with the underground fissures. Ignat discovers a snake tunnel leading directly under the eastern tower of the castle under construction. August installs secret doors there, concealing them from Sirotka.

Later, Ignat comes to Snake Head Cliff and sees a ghostly Ivy, who transforms into Albasty — an ugly old woman in a black robe made of swallows. Scar tracks Ignat down and attempts to shoot him with a gun, but Taybek kills Scar with a precise blow from a bone-handled knife, saving Ignat. Scar’s body is thrown into the lake.

Rescue of Engineer Serov

Viktor Serov arrives in Chernokamensk. August initially looks down on the beardless, dandy capital city dandy, but Viktor quickly proves his professionalism. He points out technical flaws in the design of the lighthouse’s staircase and lantern compartment. A mutual respect develops between Viktor and Ignat.

On the eve of the next full moon, Victor notices August and Ignat’s suspicious nighttime visits to the island. Serov secretly arrives by boat, enters the lighthouse basement, and uses a crowbar to force open the hatch. Descending into the cave, he touches a living silver heart. A cave-in ensues, a rock breaks the engineer’s leg, and the cave is rapidly flooded with glowing water. Albasty attempts to attack Victor, but Ivy’s human nature prevails — she flies away like a flock of swallows and calls for Ignat.

Ignat dives into the flooded cave and pulls Victor to the surface. Serov’s leg is beginning to rot, gangrene threatens amputation. Ignat and Taybek decide on a desperate measure: Ignat unfastens his bracelet and gives Taybek a grain of Polozova’s blood. The Tatar uses a red-hot knife to scrape out the pus and pour molten silver into the wound. Victor endures three days of hellish torment, but recovers. Ignat’s burns also heal with incredible speed. Due to the onset of fierce winter blizzards and a wolf infestation, Victor remains living in Evdokia and Avgust’s house.

Bitter truth and retribution

During the winter, Sirotka continues her rampage. Protecting August, Sirotka sneaks into his house and kills Evdokia with a single shot to the chest. Returning from the island, the men find the woman’s frozen body on the floor. August, driven mad by grief, locks himself in the lighthouse, drinking moonshine and sketching out a tombstone for his beloved wife.

Taybek reveals his secret to Ignat. He descends from an ancient shamanic lineage but has become a hired killer. Industrialist Zlotnikov and his gang, Sirotka, once slaughtered half of his home village, killing Taybek’s wife, Balkysh, and sons, Farkhat and Timur, for gold. The ancient Albasty gave Taybek a silver amulet ring and showed him the killer’s face in a mirror. Taybek lures Sirotka into a cave with an underground lake. By dousing the water with his blood, the Tatar summons the old Albasty. She drags Sirotka to the bottom of the lake, where he dies in terrible agony while Taybek reads the names of all his victims.

In the spring, Victor and Ignat set off for Perm. Arriving at their destination, they learn from the maid Nyurka that Countess Shumilina and Anastasia have hastily left for Chernokamensk due to the serious illness of their six-year-old girl, Anechka. Seeing Victor’s silver cigarette case, Ignat realizes that Nastya is his sister.

Kaisy and August reveal to Ignat the final secret Evdokia had been hiding for the child’s safety. Six years ago, Ivy gave birth to a daughter, Anechka. During an attack, Zlotnikov threw the baby into the water in front of her mother, after which Ivy jumped in after him and made a deal with the Guardian of the Lake — Yellow-Eyes. The lake returned the living girl to Evdokia, but Ivy transformed into the soulless Albasty. To protect the child from the undead’s maternal hunger, Evdokia handed Anechka over to Countess Shumilina in Perm to raise. Far from her home, the girl began to fade, and Kaisy ordered her returned to the lake.

The denouement on the day of the equinox

Ignat realizes that Anechka’s presence in Chernokamensk is mortally dangerous — Albasty will come for her through her bloodline. Victor meets Nastya on the lakeshore. The girl holds a cane, guarded by her dog, Theodore. Victor confesses his love to her and kisses her.

On the night of the spring equinox, Ignat, August, and Taibek gather in the lighthouse’s lantern room. In place of the complex Fresnel lens, Victor installs a mirror illuminator with nine Argand lamps. Ignat crafted the mirrors from serpent scales salvaged from the lakebed. The lamps are lit, and a powerful beam of light pierces the darkness of the Upper and Lower Worlds.

At that moment, Nastya in Perm opens her eyes and realizes her sight has returned — a parting gift from her brother, Fyodor. She sees a gray dawn, a black feather on the windowsill, and Fyodor’s silver bracelet on the floor.

Ignat steps into the shining beam of light and reunites with Ivy at their sleeping daughter’s crib. They take each other, finding long-awaited peace. The one who has lived for centuries on the border of worlds — Azhdarkha — tries to break through the newly opened passage, his silver heart pulsing within the cave. Taybek, fulfilling his promise, extinguishes the lamps and destroys the mirrors, forever sealing the serpent underground. The Tatar disappears, leaving his silver ring with Augustus.

The novel ends with a scene where a healed Nastya cries with happiness and grief, embracing Theodore, and Victor promises to protect her and little Anechka for the rest of their lives. On the island, August Berg erects a monument to Evdokia, ready to welcome Zlotnikov in the spring and complete the cycle of vengeance. Ancient Kayna, the first Albasty, combs her silver hair with a bone comb at the lighthouse, preparing to await new guests.