The Cemetery of Forgotten Books, #2
The Angel's Game
by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Contents
Chapter 26
Overview
David meets Corelli in a rain-soaked cemetery, delivers new pages, and privately confronts his grief at his father’s grave. Corelli praises the work but demands a doctrine built on fear and a concrete villain. When David attempts to quit, Corelli asserts the pact’s power, destroys the pages, and disappears, tightening his control.
Summary
At dawn under black rain, David walks to the cemetery to meet Corelli. He hands over new pages and shelters with him beneath an old mausoleum before slipping away to wander the necropolis.
David finds his father’s tomb, cleans the inscription, and speaks an apology for years of resentment and absence. Corelli approaches, claims he didn’t know, and offers curt sympathy. David, holding back tears, heads toward the gates, and Corelli follows.
By the entrance, Corelli praises the manuscript’s witness perspective but insists the narrative must harness fear, harden into dogma, and name a tangible antagonist. David argues for belief grounded in harmony, but Corelli demands a villain people can hate, framing hatred as the engine of collective faith.
Provoked, David admits he wants to return the money and abandon the project, even regrets ever meeting Corelli. Corelli’s tone turns glacial as he reminds David of his obligations under the pact and commands compliance.
Corelli drops the pages; wind and rain smear the ink as David scrambles to save them. When David looks up, Corelli has gone, leaving fear and the ruined manuscript behind.
Who Appears
- David MartínProtagonist; delivers pages to Corelli, mourns his father, challenges the project, tries to quit but capitulates under threat.
- Andreas Corelli (the boss)Patron-antagonist; praises David’s work, demands fear-driven dogma and a villain, enforces the pact, scatters the manuscript.
- José Antonio Martín ClarésDavid’s late father; present through his grave, prompting David’s apology and rekindled grief.