"Luminaries of Darkness" by Tatyana Korsakova, summary Automatic translate

"Luminaries of Darkness" is a mystical novel by Russian author Tatyana Korsakova, set in the ancient Gorisvetovo estate with its ominous Candle Tower. The book is a thriller with elements of mystery and family saga, intertwining the secrets of the last century with murders occurring today.

Return to Gorisvetovo

The protagonist, Miroslava Sergeevna, is the director of a music school located in the Gorisvetovo estate. After a man dies in the Svechnaya Tower, Senior Investigator Samokhin imposes travel restrictions on her and musician Artyom Morozov, nicknamed Frost. Frost is no stranger to Miroslava: thirteen years ago, they found a dead boy named Lyokha in the tower together. This memory has been almost completely erased from Miroslava’s memory — she only remembers fragments of that fateful night.

Miroslava disobeys the investigator’s orders and travels to her native village, to her late grandmother’s house. In the bottom tier of a bookcase, she discovers a family archive: photo albums, drawings of her family, her great-grandfather’s plans, and — most importantly — a large album of sketches by the architect August Berg and a certain Ivy. Among the drawings are portraits of their common ancestors: Berg’s assistant, Viktor Serov, his wife, Countess Shumilina, and their children. Among the papers lies another folder, undated, containing Miroslava’s own childhood drawings. They were made under regressive hypnosis, which she underwent shortly after her clinical death as a child. The drawings depict the Candle Tower, the dead Lyokha, a portrait of Uncle Mitya, and a terrifying image of a witch with snake-like braids, which haunts Miroslava in visions to this day.

Uncle Mitya and the Secret of the Past

Dmitry Yelagin, whom Miroslava calls Uncle Mitya, is the estate’s groom and the only person close to her. It was he who pulled Miroslava back from the brink of death thirteen years ago and became her savior, not her murderer — that’s how a psychiatrist interpreted her childhood drawing. The portrait depicted a strange hand with claws over Uncle Mitya’s shoulder: the doctor then concluded that the girl’s subconscious was depicting death metaphorically.

Uncle Mitya confirms that the drawings were made during regressive hypnosis sessions, which Miroslava herself had initiated in order to find out who killed her. The investigation hoped that under hypnosis, she would draw a composite sketch of the killer, but instead, an image of a savior emerged from her subconscious. The conversation ends with Uncle Mitya insistently advising Miroslava to leave Gorisvetovo — but she can’t bring herself to leave.

Investigation and the brazier on the tower

While Miroslava deals with her past, investigator Samokhin examines the evidence. A giant metal cage, covered in wax and soot, was discovered on the tower’s observation deck. An expert finds a bone fragment in the ashes and concludes that the cage was used as a brazier — a living person was meant to burn inside it. Judging by the soot stains on his clothes and hands, someone tried to force the victim into the cage, but he resisted and ultimately fell from the tower. Samokhin comes to the conclusion that there is a pattern: he understands the word "svetoch" (beacon) from the Gorisvetovo legends not figuratively, but literally — as a fiery sacrifice. An inquiry into Yelagin’s identity yields unexpected results, strengthening the investigator’s conviction that all the events at the estate are connected.

The Boss and His Secrets

After the parents removed their children from school, Miroslava confronts the boss, Vsevolod Mstislavovich Gorisvetov. He’s drunk and furious: the school is ruined, its reputation destroyed. Much is revealed in their conversation. Gorisvetovo never belonged to the family — the estate, tower, and grounds were leased from the state on a long-term basis. Vsevolod himself is not a direct descendant of Agnia Gorisvetova, but a descendant of her late husband’s nephew; there is no wealth in the family, only pride.

When Miroslava directly claims the murders are the work of his son Slavik, Vsevolod threatens to commit her to a psychiatric hospital: he has access to her medical records, including a history of near-death experiences and psychiatric treatment as a child. He intends to use these materials if necessary. Furthermore, he threatens Uncle Mitya as well. Miroslava leaves, seemingly agreeing, but determined to gather evidence.

Berg’s Diary and the Secret of the Tower

Returning to her room, Miroslava discovers a tattered diary of August Berg, planted by a stranger on her bed. The diary’s pages tell the story of Berg’s meeting with the young orphan Leonid Stupin — the very boy whose childhood sketch of the Candle Tower Miroslava found in her grandmother’s papers. Berg, who had become an alcoholic after the death of his beloved Evdokia and had taken refuge in the lighthouse in Chernokamensk, meets Countess Agnia Gorisvetova, who brings Leonid to him. Young Stupin turns out to be a true architectural genius; Berg undertakes to tutor him and accepts Agnia’s commission to build a tower in Gorisvetovo.

From the children’s drawings in Miroslava’s folder, it’s now clear: it was Leonid who first conceived the design of the Candle Tower, and Berg brought the idea to fruition. Leonid’s own drawing of the burning tower, a human figure serving as a wick, and a frozen drop of wax on it is evidence that the boy knew the tower’s true purpose.

Captivity and retribution

When Miroslava decides to call Samokhin and give him the diary, she is attacked. She awakens to find herself handcuffed to a stone altar inside the tower. Slavik stands before her. He explains that the place awakened in him not a creative impulse, like others, but a thirst for blood; that his father believes Agnia’s treasure is hidden in the tower’s vaults; and that thirteen years ago, the explorer Razumovsky had already found one of these caches.

Albasty and the Last Rite

To escape the trap and save another captive — the girl Slavik had made his twelfth victim — Miroslava resorts to a desperate measure from Berg’s diary: she goes to the water, slashes her palm with a bone-handled knife, and drinks the blood. An albasty emerges from the water’s vortex — an ancient creature Miroslava had previously dismissed as a hallucination.

It turns out that it was the Albasty who, at the request of August Berg, once rescued the children from the tower. Now the situation is repeating itself: someone has removed her magical comb, which was holding back the demon — the spirit of Agnia Gorisvetova — and she is almost free. The number of victims sacrificed in the tower as "beacons" has already reached eleven. Miroslava asks for help; the Albasty, remembering August, agrees, but warns: the lives of the men around Miroslava don’t count; her hunger knows no bounds. Miroslava flees, while the terrifying undead hunt the demon.