Scott Mebus has worked as a producer and director in television (for MTV and VH1) and also writes and performs for theater.  He lives with his wife in Manhattan, where he is writing about Rory’s next adventure.  This is his first book for children.

Adriaen van der Donck raced over the Henry Hudson Bridge at the northern tip of Mannhattan, urging his steaming horse to go faster as he made a break for the Bronx. Maybe he’d be lucky. Maybe his enemy had neglected to pick an assassin with the right kind of blood. He heard the sound of a horn in the distance. Was that the Trumpeter? He hadn’t known the old fool was still haunting the river where he’d met his death centuries before. Oh well, no one had heard the man then and no one hears his ghost now. Just like nobody heard Adriaen. And now it might be too late.
His horse weaved around the cars whizzing across the bridge. None of the drivers even glanced in his direction. Adriaen had known his rival was planning something, but he’d never imagined anything like this. He needed to reach his farm, where he could get some sort of message to his daughter, warning her and the rest of his allies of their enemy’s new, impossible weapon. If only the river would buy him some time— Glancing over his shoulder, his spirits sank. The assassin smoothly galloped across the bridge without pausing, meaning he must have Bronx blood. Adriaen’s enemy had planned for everything. Urging his horse onward, he flew down the side streets, the assassin hot on his trail. Now he could only hope to gain enough time to send a message off. But his horse was tired while the horse behind him was fresh. He’d only just crossed the boundary of his own farm when the assassin reached him. A hard push knocked Adriaen off his horse. He landed heavily among the rows of towering cornstalks. Pushing himself to his feet, Adriaen turned to face the assassin, who had dismounted and was approaching him warily, knife in hand. That knife. How had his enemy made that knife? Killing Adriaen, or any god, was supposed to be impossible.
But everything was different now.
No time to warn his compatriots, not anymore. The only message he could send would be back to this killer’s master. He gave a silent prayer for his daughter and the rest of the Rattle Watch. Look after my city, he whispered, and keep watch over the hidden Light. All will be for naught if he is taken. The assassin shifted his grip, getting ready to strike. Adriaen braced himself as he readied one last, desperate ploy. Maybe he’d save his city, though he couldn’t save himself. The assassin sprang, and Adriaen van der Donck stepped forward to meet him, his final trick ready to be played.