"Heart of the Night" by Tatyana Korsakova, summary

A young woman, Elsa, along with her lover, doctor Nikita, and a group of companions, arrives at an outpost on the edge of the Siberian taiga, where she encounters terrifying childhood memories and the gamekeeper Arkhip Beloborodov, who many years ago shot her father right before her eyes. Created in 2018, this work combines elements of a mystical novel, a taiga thriller, and a family saga, where ancient curses intertwine with the destinies of modern people. It is a story of retribution, the awakening of hidden mystical powers, and the confrontation with a centuries-old evil locked in the deep forests. The book is part of the author’s extensive "Never Wake Behind the Wall" series, forming an important part of it.

The origins of the curse and the secrets of the past

The events date back to the nineteenth century, when two prospectors, Stepan Beloborodov and Ignat Goryaev, became lost in impassable swamps. A one-eyed raven led them to a charred corpse, bound in heavy chains to a half-burnt pine tree. The prospectors freed the unfortunate man, who called himself Vran. This creature turned out to be an ancient undead being, capable of shapeshifting and controlling flocks of birds. For saving him, Vran granted Stepan the gift of seeing hidden paths and traps along the border, turning him into the first border guard, whose forearm was crowned with a secret silver key. Ignat, meanwhile, received from the undead the ability to find gold, but his soul began to rapidly darken under the influence of his mystical patron.

Having become wealthy, Ignat Goryaev built a luxurious estate in the taiga, named Goryaevskoye, with a tall, narrow tower for the Raven. The Raven thirsted for blood and power, creating the Black Chase — a flock of killer birds — and the Colchicums — anthropomorphic creatures that feed on the life force of humans. Stepan, realizing the full horror of what was happening, tried to protect his loved ones. The Raven successively possessed the minds and bodies of Oksana, Ignat’s wife, and his sister Nastena, giving birth to two red-haired daughters, Alenka and Mashenka. Later, the undead creature cunningly possessed the body of Dmitry Bystrov, a doctor from the capital who had come to the estate, and seduced the young teacher Zlata, who possessed a hidden witch’s gift.

Zlata gave birth to a third daughter, Nadya. The birth of three daughters from one mystical father promised Vran’s doom, as the third girl would awaken a triple power. To save the children from destruction, the forest witch Agrafena took the life force of Oksana and Nastena, turning them to dust but opening safe passage across the border. Manager Grigory Anisimovich secretly carried off the infants on Arabian horses, hiding them in different parts of the country. Exhausted, Zlata, at the cost of her own life, shackled Vran in his tower with a heavy, enchanted chain, remaining a ghostly guardian of Goryaevsky for centuries to come. Stepan Beloborodov recorded this story in his diary, bequeathing to his descendants the enchanted barn lock capable of finally destroying the monster.

Expedition into the unknown

Almost two hundred years later, billionaire Semyon Mikhailovich Vyazemtsev, the great-great-grandson of manager Grigory, organizes an expedition. A year ago, his only son, Alexei, disappeared in the taiga while searching for the legendary estate. Semyon Mikhailovich, disguised as an ordinary caretaker named Mikhalych, recruits, through lawyer Nikopolsky, the descendants of those who participated in those distant events: the gamekeeper Arkhip, the doctor Nikita, the blogger Leshy (Vadim Zavatsky), and three red-haired girls — Elsa, Anzhelika, and Marfa. None of them suspects that they are related by blood to Vran’s first victims, and that their employer has disrupted their lives to force them to join the expedition.

The team gathers in Sosnovoe and stops at the edge of the forest with Baba Malanya, the granddaughter of the witch Agrafena. Here, Elsa recalls how Arkhip shot her father, Petrovich. Arkhip announces that he served time for the murder and admits guilt, but conceals the true reasons. That night, a flock of black birds attacks the outpost, smashing windows. The girls instinctively hold back the onslaught of paranormal forces, detecting the first signs of a mystical gift. Baba Malanya explains that the Black Chase has marked each of them.

In the morning, Arkhip Beloborodov shows his companions a secret key on his forearm, visible only to Elsa, Angelica, and Marfa. This proves that the girls have inherited their great-grandmothers’ strength and are capable of crossing borders. On Mikhalych’s orders, the group purchases firearms from a local illegal dealer, Fyodor. The supplier discovers that a gang of poachers, led by the brutal criminal Oleg Demyanov, nicknamed Demyan, is operating in the forest. He is after the million-dollar reward for the missing students. Fifteen years ago, it was Arkhip who tracked Demyan down and turned him over to the police for the murder of a game inspector.

Confrontation in the swamp

The group sets off into the depths of the taiga in single file. The expedition members discover animal familiars that help them navigate and sense danger: Angelica gains a white Rat, Elsa a cat named Zena, and Marfa a bat named Nochka. Along the way, the team is caught in a powerful hurricane and takes refuge in an old hunting lodge, enchanted by Arkhip’s ancestors. A quarrel erupts inside the lodge, and Elsa, in a fit of uncontrollable rage, telekinetically throws dishes and stabs the ceiling with a knife, nearly killing the huntsman. Marfa protects Arkhip by manifesting her own powerful energy.

Arkhip leads the squad to an abandoned swamp, following invisible silver threads. During a rest stop, the blogger Leshy wanders into the forest thicket, where he is attacked by a colchicum. The creature stings him in the neck, draining his life force. Angelica rushes to his aid, her Rat bites off the monster’s tongue, and she shoots the beast with a shotgun. Arkhip finishes off the colchicum with a charmed knife, burning its brand with a silver key. Leshy survives, and romantic feelings blossom between him and Angelica.

At night, a ghostly figure in the form of a woman appears on the island in the swamp, putting Arkhip to sleep and leading Elsa into the quagmire. Doctor Nikita is awakened by his cat Zena and rushes off to find his beloved. Elsa is almost completely submerged, but manages to use her mind to fell a century-old birch tree, which forms a bridge over the bog. Nikita pulls her from the swamp and performs CPR. Upon regaining consciousness, Elsa discovers an old, rusty padlock in her jacket pocket — the very same Vran’s death that Stepan Beloborodov hid in the swamp many years ago.

The final in Goryaevskoye

The team reaches solid ground and stumbles upon Demyan’s camp. The poachers stun Leshy with a shotgun butt and tie Angelica up against a pine tree, demanding she draw a map of the secret house. Demyan attempts to torture her with a red-hot firebrand. At that moment, Leshy comes to, Krys bites through Angelica’s bonds, and the blogger shoots the bandits in the legs with a double-barreled shotgun. The scent of blood draws the colchicums, which suck the wounded poachers alive. Leshy and Angelica flee to the river, where they find the dilapidated, oak-covered, white-stone Goryaevskoye estate.

The entire squad reunites at the estate. Elsa finally recalls the events of her childhood. Fifteen years ago, her father, Petrovich, succumbed to the charms of Vran, tried to strangle his own daughter with a belt, intending to sacrifice her. Arkhip shot Petrovich, saving little Elsa, and took the blame for the crime himself. That night, Alexey Vyazemtsev, Semyon Mikhailovich’s son, emerges from the darkness. But he is only an empty shell — Vran has completely possessed his body and mind. The monster demands the castle in exchange for the boy’s life.

Semyon Mikhailovich Vyazemtsev begs Arkhip not to shoot his son. Elsa, Lika, and Marfa stand shoulder to shoulder, their neck rings flashing with silver light, forming a triple shield. Elsa channels the centuries-old fear of Vran’s victims onto the monster. A powerful blast of energy knocks Vran’s spirit from Alexei’s body. The ghostly flock of birds materializes into a huge black wolf. Marfa kneels before the lifeless Alexei and, with the power of her love, brings him back to life.

Arkhip Beloborodov breaks through to the Raven Tower, whose forged handles are wrapped in a rusty chain. The huntsman snaps the enchanted barn lock, trapping the undead inside forever. He douses the doors with moonshine and sets the building ablaze. The tower collapses, burying the monster in blazing rubble. The silver nets on the pond disappear. A ghostly Zlata emerges from the rays of the morning sun, embraces the expedition members, and finally finds peace, departing to the other world to join her friends. The curse of Lukomorye is completely broken.

Epilogue

Two years later, Vadim Zavatsky (Leshy) and the pregnant Angelica return to Sosnovy by car. Angelica is expecting a child, her face adorned with freckles. At the edge of the forest, they are met by Nikita and Elsa, who has completely recovered from the emotional trauma and scars of the past. Together, they head to the renovated manor house by the lake, where Arkhip and Marfa now live, raising their newborn son Stepan, named after the first border guard. Semyon Mikhailovich Vyazemtsev, who is restoring Goryaevskoye at his own expense, arrives by helicopter for dinner. The estate is transformed into a museum. On the opposite bank of the pond, the ghostly silhouettes of their distant ancestors appear for a moment, waving at them and dissolving in the rays of the sun.