The Raven's Revenge

*The Raven's Revenge* is the sixth, and last book in the Blackthorn Key book series. It was released on January 17th, 2

## Synopsis

The stakes are higher than ever when the Raven sets Christopher up for a horrible crime, leading him to be locked away in London’s most notorious prison. This terrible act is the first in a series of games the Raven plans to play with Christopher…games that are as dangerous as they are challenging.

Once free from prison, Christopher, Tom, and Sally engage in a cat and mouse game with the Raven that takes them all over London. Can Christopher outwit the Raven one final time and finally unmask him? And what price might he have to pay to achieve that? This is the thrilling conclusion to the Blackthorn Key series that fans have been waiting for!

# Summary of the book

Christopher wakes up in an unknown place, covered with a bag, through which it is almost impossible to see what is happening around. Rough hands grabbed him and sent him to a strange place. Seeing nothing, Christopher only managed to feel a terrible smell and angry shouts from all sides, as well as a couple of blows to the head. Opening his head, it became clear that he had been taken to the infamous *Newgate prison*. He was chained to the walls, where, among other horrors, already dead prisoners were hanging. Christopher was filled with fear that they might have intended to do the same to him, but he could not remember what he could have done so bad lately. One of the men who was leading him came up and said that he was standing at the "gates of hell": he was taken to Newgate Prison. At the same moment, Lord Ashcombe was already in prison, who, having dealt with the jailer, pulled Christopher out of here, but asked him not to ask unnecessary questions. As she and Christopher were leaving the scary building, they were met by Tom sitting on Bennet. He was just as perplexed to find out where his friend had been at those moments. After leaving for Whitehall, Ashcombe began to explain things to Christopher a little bit. It turned out that his arrival in prison was the work of a Raven who accused the main character of two murders. Raven used two dead bodies as evidence: one was a member of the cult of the Archangel Wat, the guy who killed Benedict Blackthorn, and the second was the innocent Mr. Sinclair, a pastry chef who always treated Christopher well. However, the explanations did not end there. The person who slandered the apothecary's apprentice was Eleanor, a wealthy woman who was arriving at Whitehall at the time. During the dialogue with her, it turned out that Raven, under threat of death, forced her to tell a story in court about how she saw in the window how Christopher decided to avenge his teacher with blood feud by killing Wat, and also at the same time kill a witness to what happened -Mr. Sinclair. At this time, King Charles the 2nd himself burst into the hall, who decided to pardon Eleanor if she left London forever. Lord Walsingham is taking Christopher away for a private interview. He believes that Raven has begun to fulfill his promise to "*deprive him of all people and expose his life.*" The first step to implement this was to deprive Christopher of the king's trust-after all, he allegedly violates the laws of England, to which he was so loyal...

The next day, the king threw a party again. Christopher, Tom and Sally already suspected that the Raven could be there, and this theory was supplemented by the conclusion from the conversation with Walsingham-*for sure the role of the Raven's messengers would be performed by actors*. The next day, the king threw a party again. Christopher, Tom and Sally already suspected that the Raven could be there, and this theory was supplemented by the conclusion from the conversation with Walsingham-for sure the role of the Raven's messengers would be performed by actors. Then, after learning about the new play, which plans to take place very soon, the main characters decided to come to it. Once there, Christopher recognized one of the people who stopped him in the alley to deliver a letter from the "Templars" (***5th book: "The Traitor's Blade"***). His name was George Gifford. Having confessed at gunpoint that he had been bribed, friends began to ask what the person who did this looked like without learning much about the Raven. The next day, a letter comes to Whitehall, which Gifford wrote: he wanted to meet only Christopher at the same place. But when Christopher arrived there, it became clear that the letter was written using the skills of a forger by Raven himself. Dressed in a suit, behind which the body could not be seen at all and with a theatrical mask, he stood next to Dr. Kemp, leaning a gun against his head. Raven dictated all the words in Kemp's ear while he was saying them, and eventually killed the doctor. Raven's announcement was the "final game", which began tomorrow morning. According to the terms, the winner in it got everything, and the loser died together with his friends. He was angry that the King and Ashcombe had come to Christopher's aid. According to him, the "game" starts tomorrow, and the involvement of other participants immediately took friends out of the game.

*“The game I was planning was supposed to be between you and me,” Raven said. “Just you and me. You brought others. So now your friends will have to play too.”*

*He shook the doctor by the collar. “Then a new competition,” he said. “You won the first round in Paris. I won the second one here in London. So, we will play the decisive round. The final round is between you and me. And the winner will get everything.*

*“Our game starts tomorrow, at the crack of dawn,” said Raven. “The rules are as follows: Tom and Sally will accompany you. You can also leave your horses; you'll need them to have a chance. All other resources of the king are denied to you. Not Ashcombe, not Walsingham, not the king's men. Nothing. If you break this rule, you will be out of the game immediately.*

*“I would also deny you your other Templar allies," he said, "but then I don't have to do that, do I? I have already removed these pieces from the board. However, if their charred corpses are useful to you, by all means take them with you.”*

*The raven was still whispering in Kemp's ear, so I could only hear the doctor's voice. But I could tell by Raven's shaking shoulders that he was laughing at me.*

*I looked at my pistols again. I would give anything to have one of them in my hand.*

*“What do I get if I win?” I said.*

*“Me, Christopher. You have to meet me. Face to face, without a mask.”*

*“And if I lose?”*

*“Then you and your friends will die.”*

*“No," I said. “This only concerns you and me. It's always been you and me. So don't involve others in this.”*

*Tom began to object. It wouldn't have changed anything. “I've explained the rules to you,” said the Raven. “I told you the bids. I absolutely don't care what you want.”*

*“Then I won't play.”*

*“Oh, but you will.” He pressed the muzzle deeper into the base of Dr. Kemp's skull. “You will play, or you will lose. And your friends will die anyway.”*

*Raven tightened his grip on the doctor's collar. “And just in case you don't believe me," he said, "let me demonstrate. Now I am—”*

*Dr. Kemp's eyes widened when he heard what the Raven whispered. "nooooooooo!" Kemp shouted.*

*Then Raven pulled the trigger.*