Summary of "The Estate of the Revived Darkness" by Tatyana Korsakova

"The Estate of the Living Darkness" is a mystical novel with a historical backdrop, set during the German occupation. Published by Eksmo in 2022, it is part of the "Roaring Stream" series, continuing the storylines of several characters already familiar to readers from previous installments. The author, Tatyana Korsakova (real name Tatyana Viktorovna Rimskaya-Korsakova), a Belarusian doctor and writer of mystical romance novels, constructs the plot as an intersection of military adventure and dark fantasy, featuring ghouls, werewolves, and otherworldly creatures.

The Investigator, the Vampire, and the Three-Headed Dog

Vlas Petrovich Golovin, an investigator and commander of a partisan detachment, finds himself in a critical situation: his man, nicknamed Zveroboy, is dying of wounds nearby, and before him stands Grigory (Grinya), a former thief and now, as it turns out, a ghoul. Grinya demonstrates superhuman speed and agility, while behind Vlas, a three-headed black dog, Gorynych, emerges from the darkness — a creature with two canine heads and one bony head, lashing its tail like a whip. Vlas raises his machine gun, but realizes the weapon is useless against such a fiend. Grinya knocks him out with a blow to the temple.

Waking up tied up in a tiny dugout, Vlas sees Grinia’s gravely wounded son, Mityai, nearby, as well as the young partisan Vsevolod (Seva), who escaped from the detachment with his weapons. Grinia takes Vlas outside and offers him a frank conversation. The investigator directly calls Grinia a ghoul; he doesn’t deny it. He explains that he became a ghoul in the Gremuchaya Hollow — he fell into the clutches of one of them and, instead of death, acquired an inhuman nature. Grinia, however, remains sane: he doesn’t attack his own men, feeds on hares instead of people, and smokes cigarettes with the same relish.

Gentleman’s agreement

A reluctant alliance forms between Vlas and Grina. Grina asks for two things: to take Mityai to a doctor and to keep his ghoul nature secret — especially not to the boys, who don’t know the truth about their father. In exchange, he promises to tell everything that’s happening at Gremuchy Ruchey, as Grina knows far more about the estate and the ravine than Vlas. As a final condition, Grina asks Vlas to kill him if he "starts going crazy" and loses control.

Gorynych lies down next to the dying Mityai, licks his face with all three heads, and somehow keeps him alive — just as he once helped Grina himself. After this, Mityai regains consciousness. To pass through the city unhindered, Gorynych splits into three separate dogs: two look almost like ordinary dogs, while the third — Bone Head — is nearly invisible and serves as a scout.

Doctor Timofey Ivanovich

The group reaches the outskirts of the city, where they meet with an elderly doctor, Timofey Ivanovich, whom Vlas had visited before. The old man examines Mityai: he has suffered severe blood loss and pneumonia, and the wound is strange, clearly from a bite. The doctor says the boy won’t survive without medication and a blood transfusion. Vlas volunteers to donate — he has type O blood, the universal blood type. The transfusion is successful, and Mityai stabilizes.

The doctor, for his part, admits that his medications are running low: the only dealer who supplied him with them has disappeared. Timofey Ivanovich is certain that the necessary supplies are stored in the city hospital, now occupied by the Germans as a hospital. After the occupation, the old man approached the hospital’s director, Richard Stolz, asking permission to see civilians. Stolz politely refused and never sent the promised medications. The doctor specifically mentions Lidochka, the nurse who was arrested, and asks him to give her his regards if he gets the chance.

Raid on a German hospital

After waiting until darkness falls, Vlas and Grina go to get some medicine. Seva stays behind to guard Mityai and the doctor. The hospital is guarded by several machine gunners patrolling the perimeter. Grina insists that he alone enter the building — with his superhuman speed, it’s more reliable. Vlas waits in the basement utility room for no more than fifteen minutes, after which Grina returns with a full duffel bag.

On the way out, something unexpected happens: they encounter a German sentry. Grinya kills him with her bare hands. The second guard turns out to be a ghoul — an infected from the Rattlesnake Hollow. Grigory snaps his neck and finishes him off with a knife. They try to put the two corpses in the basement, while they flee. Already on the outskirts, Grinya shares a disturbing thought: von Kleist — the German ghoul scientist who created all these creatures — apparently lives. Only he could create such controllable undead creatures, and several of them have already reached the city.

Lydia and Sonya in the forest

At the same time, Lydia’s story unfolds — the same Lidochka, the nurse the doctor mentioned. Together with Sonya, she makes her way through the forest, emerging from a swamp. Lydia is wounded in the leg, and Sonya picks up an aspen staff. Lost in the twilight, they navigate by the distinctive trees Sonya remembers, and eventually find an abandoned beekeeper’s hut at the edge of the forest, complete with a stove, a stove bench, and some deadwood.

Lydia develops a fever. Sonya goes to the river to fetch water and raspberry bushes for tea. Lydia is left alone. Her inner state makes it clear that she has survived the arrest and interrogation — "torture dreams" — and still hasn’t recovered.

Mityai in someone else’s dream

Mityai possesses a strange gift — he can enter other people’s dreams. While his body recovers from its wounds, his consciousness wanders through the abandoned house. Hearing a quiet groan, he descends into the basement and sees Lydia chained in the dungeon. Nearby stands Wolf, a German officer, naked to the waist, with ghoul-like fangs. He drinks Lydia’s blood.

Mityai rushes into battle, but his fists pass through Wolf — he’s incorporeal in someone else’s dream. The only thing he manages is to knock the kerosene stove off the shelf. The glass shatters, and the flame goes out. Wolf grows wary and leaves. Mityai promises Lydia he’ll return and picks up Wolf’s trail.

Von Kleist is alive

Following Wolf in the same dream, Mityai finds himself in another basement and witnesses an interrogation scene: von Kleist holds Wolf on a hook and berates him for the countless hungry creatures that emerged from the Rattle Hollow and the rumors that spread into town. Now the burgomaster is coming to inspect. Von Kleist is alive and angry that Wolf has neglected his caution — a caution that the ghoul-scholar has always been noted for. This confirms Grini’s fears: the source of the infection has not been eliminated, meaning a visit to the estate is inevitable.

Stella and the Aspen Peak

One of the storylines involves Stella, a woman with whom Vlas is involved. She has obtained a fake theatrical sword and asked him to sharpen it. She understands that she can’t enter the estate with a regular weapon, but a sharp aspen blade can pierce the ghoul’s heart. Vlas kisses her, trying not to think that it might be a farewell kiss.

Debts and the Price of Union

By the end of the story, several unpaid debts have accumulated. Grinya is indebted to Vlas, who essentially saved Mityai by agreeing to a blood transfusion. Vlas, in turn, is indebted to the doctor and promises to obtain medicine for future patients. Grinya promised Gorynych to find Tanya, the girl he’s searching for. Vsevolod is eager to go to Gremuchy Ruchey after Sonya, but he holds out while Mityai is in danger of dying.

The group prepares for a decisive raid on the estate where von Kleist is hiding. Grina has inside information about the estate, Vlas has his experience as an investigator and connections in the city. Gorynych is a living (or undead) weapon, hard to call an ally, but impossible to ignore. The doctor will provide a hospital map and a list of essentials. Lydia is alive, but held captive by Wolf. Von Kleist is alive and still dangerous. None of these threads are broken — they all lead to Gremuchy Ruchey.