A summary of "The Heart of the Beast" by Tatyana Korsakova

The novel was published in 2016. This book is a mystical detective story centered around a cursed castle on an island in the middle of a Ural lake. The events unfold against the backdrop of ancient legends and the clash of human passions with an otherworldly threat. The author weaves together the destinies of a desperate architect, a determined governess, and a metropolitan geologist.

The novel is part of the literary series "The Secret of the Old Estate." It is the third of six books. The other parts of this cycle are: "The Girl with Silver Blood," "Come into My Dreams," "The Cursed Inheritance," "The Serpent’s Daughters," and "The Call of Silver."

Solitude at the Lighthouse

Architect August Berg lives in self-imposed exile on the island of Guardstone. He grieves over the death of his wife, Evdokia, and often speaks to her stone statue. He dwells in an old lighthouse, awaiting the return of industrialist Sergei Zlotnikov to exact brutal revenge for his beloved’s death. One dead night, Berg is visited by an Albastian named Kayna — a powerful undead being who guards the island and the lake. The man is completely unafraid of the otherworldly apparition. The architect and the undead form a secret blood pact. The Albastian promises to aid in his revenge if Berg protects the little girl, Anna. Anna lives with the family of engineer Viktor Serov and his young wife, Anastasia. As a sign of their alliance, the Albastian transfers Evdokia’s stone statue to a secret underground grotto.

Zlotnikov’s arrival

August goes to Chernokamensk to visit the Serovs. He asks Viktor to take Anna away from the lake, as the ancient power could awaken and harm the child. The engineer refuses to leave the city due to the serious illness of his grandmother, Anastasia. Soon, Zlotnikov arrives on the island with his large retinue. The castle built by Berg makes a strong impression on the cruel owner. Along with the industrialist come his unloved wife Marie, his illegitimate son Ilya, his rude nanny Raisa, the prim manager Emma Vershinskaya, and the enigmatic alchemist Meister Schwartz.

Little Ilya openly hates his father. Zlotnikov forcibly took the boy from his mother to raise him as a submissive heir. The child is terrified of the huge, gloomy house and the cruel punishments in the damp basement. Albasty begins visiting Ilya at night, frightening him half to death with its terrifying appearance. August Berg asks the undead to leave the defenseless child alone, but it only entertains the child’s fear.

Unexpected guests

New people are arriving in Chernokamensk. Sofia Ledneva arrives from Perm. She asks Berg for shelter, posing as the widow of Evdokia’s nephew. The architect indifferently allows her to move into his late wife’s empty town house. In reality, Sofia is the adopted daughter of a famous safecracker. Her father is terminally ill. The girl desperately searches for an ancient alloy called "Polozov’s Blood," which has the ability to heal wounds and prolong human life.

At the same time, Dmitry Rudazov, a young geologist from St. Petersburg, arrives in town. Zlotnikov hired him to search for diamonds in the local river floodplain. Rudazov meets his determined neighbor, Sofia. During a trip to the lake, Dmitry discovers the torn bodies of a cow and a local shepherd, Yeroshka, in the forest. Kaisy, a taiga hunter, inspects the scene of the bloody incident. Mariets concludes that the fatal wounds were inflicted not by a bear or a wolf, but by a huge, unknown monster.

A ferocious beast begins to brazenly terrorize the forested area. One night, the werewolf comes straight to Sofia’s house. She remains composed and accurately shoots the monster with a hunting rifle. The loud sound of gunshots brings Dmitry running. The young man lunges at the beast with his bare hands, trying to protect his neighbor. The yellow-eyed werewolf prepares to tear the man to pieces, but suddenly stops and dashes into the darkness. The shared fear brings Sofia and Dmitry closer together.

Infection and Secrets of the Dungeon

Sophia cunningly becomes Ilya’s governess and moves into Zlotnikov’s castle. She sincerely pities the frightened boy and tries to protect him from the attacks of Raisa and Emma Vershinskaya. At night, the bright ghost of Evdokia appears to Sophia. The dead woman takes Ilya under her invisible wing. The ghost reveals many of the island’s secrets to the girl and helps her find a secret hiding place in a gloomy dungeon. Sophia descends into the gloomy catacombs and retrieves an ancient silver knife hidden there. In the basement, she encounters a terrifying albast, but bravely retreats and returns safely to her room.

Zlotnikov organizes a reconnaissance expedition to the mine. Dmitry, the greedy Professor von Richter, and Kaisy set out on the dangerous quest. One dark night, a yellow-eyed werewolf attacks the camp. The beast sinks its sharp claws deep into Dmitry’s chest. Kaisy miraculously manages to save the bleeding young man. The hunter pours molten silver from an ancient bracelet into his fatal wounds. The precious metal burns away the infection and quickly heals Dmitry. This magical intervention triggers an irreversible process of physical transformation. The young man himself begins to rapidly transform into a werewolf.

Restraining bracelet

The hunter takes Dmitry to an old shaman. Then Kaisy places a special bracelet made of "Snake Blood" on Rudazov’s wrist. The ancient silver reliably blocks his beastly nature, preventing Dmitry from fully transforming into a wild wolf. The young man retains his familiar human form, but gains immense physical strength, incredibly acute hearing, and a feral sense of smell.

During a horseback ride, Sophia and Ilya’s horse panics and charges straight toward a high cliff. Dmitry, arriving just in time, stops the frantic animal with his bare hands, but immediately collapses from a terrible attack of pain. At the invisible command of Evdokia’s ghost, Sophia slashes open Dmitry’s chest with a silver knife she found. The pain subsides, and the wound instantly heals. Now Rudazov understands the true nature of the monster. He smells the pungent scent of wolf hair on Meister Schwartz’s clothes and begins to suspect, with good reason, the silent alchemist of lycanthropy.

Payback for sins

The tension in the castle reaches its breaking point. Marie Zlotnikova suffers from terrifying nightmares and secret alcoholism. Soon, the distraught woman dies, falling from a high tower onto the sharp coastal rocks. The cruel owner of the estate indifferently dismisses his wife’s death as an accident. Murders in the town continue unabated. The frightened merchant Vodovozov abandons his diamond mines and ingloriously dies at the claws of a beast in the forest. The treacherous von Richter fraudulently buys a competitor’s lands and cynically resells them to Zlotnikov at an exorbitant price.

Sophia continues to spy on the strange inhabitants of the enormous house. Soon, a vicious werewolf stealthily enters the castle through a winding underground passage. The enraged beast mercilessly tears apart the nanny, Raisa. Then the monster cold-bloodedly murders Zlotnikov right in his office, ripping off the powerful industrialist’s head. Emma Vershinskaya brings her dead master evening tea, finds the mangled body of her secret lover, and finally loses her mind from unbearable grief.

The true face of the beast

Dmitry and August Berg prepare a cunning ambush on the island. The cowardly von Richter treacherously betrays his comrades-in-arms. The professor stealthily steals Dmitry’s life-saving silver knife and mercilessly throws Sophia to the monster’s slaughter. With a single swipe of its clawed paw, the beast tears off the head of the greedy von Richter. Rudazov clearly understands that in his weak human form, he cannot defeat the monster. The brave young man decisively tears the enchanted bracelet from his wrist. He instantly transforms into a powerful silver wolf and engages in battle with the yellow-eyed creature.

A deadly battle between enormous beasts shakes the castle courtyard at night. The silver wolf suffers grievous wounds while courageously defending his beloved. Master Schwartz comes to the aid of the bleeding Dmitry. The grim alchemist deftly plunges the recovered silver knife deep into his enemy’s back. The yellow-eyed monster dies and slowly assumes its true human form. The werewolf unexpectedly reveals itself to be the frail Mrs. Vershinskaya. Spurned by Zlotnikov, the unfortunate woman sought revenge on all the castle’s inhabitants.

Redemption

Schwartz explains his true motives in detail to the stunned crowd. Emma Vershinskaya tore his wife to pieces in Leipzig many years ago. The grieving alchemist tirelessly tracked the elusive monster across Europe. A wounded Dmitry lies motionless on the cold ground. He is physically unable to return to his normal body. A desperate Sophia tearfully begs the Albasty to save her beloved’s life.

Kayna agrees to help the suffering girl. The undead spends a long time combing the wolf’s thick fur with her magical bone comb. Dmitry safely transforms into a human. Kaisy, arriving just in time, places the silver bracelet back on the rescued youth’s wrist and securely rivets it. Now Rudazov will be able to live a long human life. The castle is cleansed of its bloody taint. Evdokia’s ghost bids a warm farewell to August Berg. In the morning, Dmitry, Sophia, and little Ilya leave the gloomy Watchstone forever. On the shore of a sunlit lake, their friends give them a warm farewell, and from the clifftop, an albasty smiles mysteriously at them.