"New Gods" by Natalia Turchaninova, summary Automatic translate

"New Gods" is an urban fantasy novel co-written by Alexey Pekhov, Natalia Turchaninova, and Elena Bychkova. The action takes place in a modern world where clans of immortals — the Nachttothers, the Cadavercians, the Dakhanavar, and others — hover hidden among humanity, all under the shadow of the Founder, Atum. The book concludes the series about these clans, bringing together the lines of confrontation, betrayal, and forced alliances.

Return of the Founder

Atum, the Founder of all Blood Brother clans, returns from the Illusion world known as Ligamentia, where he spent about two weeks. Upon his return, he first seeks out the Cadavercian Christoph, who had once imprisoned him, and deals with him brutally — killing the Dark Hunter associated with him and sending the sorcerer himself to the Gardens of Pain, the otherworld of the Nachtzerret clan, from which there is little chance of return. Meanwhile, Atum calls his ally Hranya, notifying her of his imminent arrival: during the Founder’s absence, tensions had been rising among the clans, and Nachtzerret’s Amir was already preparing to act against him.

Miklos Balsa and his bets

Nachttóter Miklós Balza, the head of the Golden Wasp clan, awakens after standing against the Founder with the aid of an artifact called the Sting. The price was high: the Sting drains the life force and youth of its owner, and Miklós, who recently looked twenty, now looks twenty-five. He understands why his teacher Lucius aged so quickly — he spent years paying the same price.

Balsa fortifies his lair, bides his time, and plots against his sister, Hranja. She fled to the Founder’s protection, meaning she is currently invulnerable. Miklos is also plagued by a financial problem: the bank of the Negociant clan, believing the Nachttoter to be dead, transferred his accounts to Hranja. An angry conversation with the head of the Vieschi, Ramon, changes nothing immediately, but Balsa extracts a promise to return the money.

Expedition to the Gardens of Pain

Vivian Flora, Christoph’s apprentice who has taken over the body of a Dakhanavar, approaches Miklós. He asks for help in extracting the master from the world of Nachtzerret. Balsa haggles at length, but eventually agrees, choosing a companion: since women are forbidden from entering the Gardens of Pain, he takes with him the Cadavercian Greg — a Welshman with a pirate past and a talking dead parrot named Paco.

The path leads through the Capital at night, in the midst of a violent late snowfall. Entering the world of Nachtzerret through the park near the television tower, they find themselves in a gloomy forest of black thorn trees with poisonous thorns, under a huge full moon. Miklos explains to Greg the workings of this world: when the moon dims, the "time of the Gardeners" begins — the souls of deceased Thornishes, thirsting for the blood of the living. During these hours, salvation can only be found in the magical "Blind Cage."

Paco, the dead parrot, takes up the search for Christophe, and the travelers delve deeper into the forest. Several times the moon dims, forcing them to hide in a cage. During one of these treks, the Gardeners ambush them and attack right in the moonlight — apparently, their bloodlust overpowered their instinct for self-preservation. Greg dispatches the creatures with a hammer and green flame, while Miklos holds the line with "Tlön" and a combat whip. Despite their success, Balsa increasingly insists on retreat: their strength is being spent on creating cages, and the Gardeners are constantly growing in number. Greg is adamant and continues searching for the teacher.

Vittoria and the return to the Capital

At the same time, the story unfolds of Vittoria, a young revenant hiding with her mother, Diana, and her bodyguard, Richard, somewhere far from the Capital. On television, they see a breaking news report: enormous pterodactyl-like creatures — the Cadavercian Dark Hunters — circling above the city. One of them attacks the crowd live on air.

Vittoria insists on returning to the Capital. Richard agrees only after giving her an hour to prepare for departure: he wants to be sure that a call from Felicia, the First Lady of the Dakhanavar, won’t reveal their location. They have a conversation, and Felicia reports: the Founder has gone out of control and threatens the entire world. The Revenant is needed for a special banishing ritual.

Diana categorically refuses to let her daughter go alone, demanding they go together. Richard patiently convinces her that an ordinary person among blood brothers would only be a burden and a target. The decisive argument is the mention of Diana’s son, Valentin, who remained in the Capital. The mother relents. An agreement is reached, but neither Vittoria nor Richard feels anything resembling victory: the price they still have to pay is too obvious.

Threads converging to the finale

The course of events draws the characters to a single point — the besieged Capital, where the Founder is increasingly upsetting the fragile balance between the clans and the human world. Atum, having returned from the world of Ligamentia, has already paid off the traitors and is preparing for his next move. Miklos and Greg are still wandering through the Gardens of Pain, searching for Christophe — dead or alive. Vittoria is moving toward her role as a revenant, with her vulnerable mother looming behind her. All these destinies are inexorably converging at the point where the question of who will become the new god of this world — or who will become nothing — will be decided.