The passengers' reports were at first dismissed by police but later confirmed by crime scene investigators when remains of musket shells and fragments of at least two nineteenth-century cannonballs were discovered lodged in the side panels of the bus.

A region-wide search is underway for the missing student and the driver, while all other passengers were treated and released.

The incident remains under investigation by local and federal crime units.

To be continued . . .

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Author's Note.

The Forbidden Stone is undeniably a work of fiction; any real people who pass through its pages have been treated in a fictional manner. However, since all such books are built on a foundation of reality, I'd like to acknowledge a number of historical works I used in laying out the story.

The first volume to capture my interest about the "timid canon," his world-altering discovery, and his colorful times is The Sleepwalkers (1959) by Arthur Koestler, a volume I came upon during my college years. A novelist whose most famous book will find its way into the next volume of this series, Koestler instills in his chapters on Nicolaus Copernicus the excitement and living detail of his craft. This book remains the touchstone of my appreciation for the astronomer.

Jack Repcheck's Copernicus' Secret: How the Scientific Revolution Began (2007) is an illuminating biography, as is A More Perfect Heaven: How Copernicus Revolutionized the Cosmos (2011) by Dava Sobel. Both works combine scholarship with an engaging style and have the virtue of being recent and easily obtainable.

Desmond Seward's The Monks of War: The Military Religious Orders (1972) and Frederick Charles Woodhouse's The Military Religious Orders of the Middle Ages: The Hospitallers, the Templars, the Teutonic Knights, and Others (1879) have been and will continue to be helpful in fleshing out the murky days of the sixteenth century Order. I must also mention Kip S. Thorne's Black Holes and Time Warps: Einstein's Outrageous Legacy (1994), a brilliantly amusing and engaging text for humanities-heavy nonscientists like me.

Since I dislike spoilers and feel an obligation to keep secrets hidden until they are revealed at their proper time and place, this paragraph will seem vague until the reader completes the book. I am indebted to Laurence Bergreen's 2003 book about what he calls "the edge of the world," as well as Yale University Press's 1969 edition of Antonio Pigafetta's travel history. Thanks are due, also, to the Sterling Library at Yale and its Privileges and Reference staffs for locating and providing me space to examine Laura Maud Thompson's rare 1932 volume, Archaeology of the . . . Also helpful was Thompson's 1941 book about the people native to that area. Finally, Private Yokoi's War . . . by Omi Hatashin is a fascinating document made all the more so by containing Shoichi Yokoi's autobiography.

Any liberties and excursions from fact are, of course, completely my own.

Acknowledgments.

It's hard to separate these personal remarks from the Author's Note of the previous pages; all have combined to create what you're holding in your hands right now. Still, I want to express particular gratitude to the following constellation of stars.

My astonishingly smart, funny, beautiful, and talented wife, Dolores, has always been the rock upon which I've been blessed to conjure stories, from early disappointments to the glorious present. My equally amazing and lovely daughters, Jane and Lucy, you make each day a wonder of discovery. Together, you three are on every single page of this book.

My agent, George Nicholson, has been artfully building and shaping my career in stories since I began writing them. Yes, George, it was 1994 when we began our pleasant relationship (with Harper, I might add). Here's to the next twenty years!

I must thank Kip S. Thorne, astrophysicist extraordinaire, for collegially allowing me to use his name in a work of fiction. Kip, I am here offering you the use of mine.

To the entire team at Katherine Tegen Books, starting with Katherine herself, whose wry humor and excitement so sparked to the idea and nurtured that spark into a blaze. My editor, Claudia Gabel, delightfully present at the creation of The Copernicus Legacy, has always urged this epic story to ever-higher levels. Your creative intelligence and brainstorming are indelibly present in these pages, too. Also there at the beginning, Melissa Miller has been a shepherd, a microscopic reader, a sounding board, and a crutch; I happily depend on all of your talents. To the several copy editors and proofreaders whose native brilliance has offhandedly saved me from gaffes as numberless as the stars, I love you. From the art department (oh, that awesome logo!) to the marketing, promotion, and sales forces-your support from the inception of this project has been a joy.

This is the beginning of the payback.

Praise for.

THE COPERNICUS LEGACY:.

The Forbidden Stone.

"I had to keep reminding myself The Copernicus Legacy was intended for a young audience. Full of mystery and intrigue, this book had me completely transfixed."

-Ridley Pearson, New York Times bestselling author of the Kingdom Keepers series.

"The Copernicus Legacy takes you on a fantastical journey that is as eye-opening as it is page-turning. With mysteries hiding behind secrets coded in riddle, this book is like a Dan Brown thriller for young readers. The further you get, the more you must read!"

-Angie Sage, New York Times bestselling author of the Septimus Heap series.

"The Copernicus Legacy has it all: A secret code, priceless relics, murderous knights, a five-hundred-year-old mystery, and a story full of friendship, family, humor, and intelligence. Tony Abbot better be writing quickly because I can't wait for book two!"

-Wendy Mass, New York Times bestselling author of The Candymakers and Every Soul a Star.

"Tony Abbott is such an amazing storyteller, Copernicus should've named a star after him. With codes to crack, clues to unravel, and bad guys to outrun, this is one thrilling, smart, and fun read! I can't wait for the next chapter in this stellar new series."

-Chris Grabenstein, New York Times bestselling author.

"A sprawling and fast-paced adventure in the great tradition of Robert Ludlum, Ian Fleming, and other masters whose tales loom larger than life. Readers are in for a real treat."

-David Lubar, author of Flip, Wizards of the Game, and Hidden Talents.

About the Author.

TONY ABBOTT is the author of nearly a hundred books for young readers, including the bestselling series The Secrets of Droon. Tony has worked in libraries, in bookstores, and in a publishing company and currently teaches college English. He lives in Connecticut with his wife, two daughters, and two dogs. You can visit him online at www.tonyabbottbooks.com.

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