Silver Dragon Codex Read Online Free Page B

honorable man. I ask you to trust my word as you would have trusted his. Give us a little time to help Belen remember what happened. We won’t run away or hide, but let us look for the truth.” Jace met Mysos’s eyes squarely. He tried not to bite his lip, hoping the White Robe’s dubious look would fade. “The circus isn’t supposed to leave this area for three days. Give me three days to help her remember.”
    “And if I do?” The wizard raised a bushy eyebrow.
    “Then I promise that I’ll go with you—willingly,” Belen offered. “If I really did what you claim and hurt all those people, then I
should
be judged for it. You won’t have any trouble with me.”
    “No, Belen, really, I must insist.” Worver stood up, starting at the idea. “This man means to lock you away—or worse! I can’t allow it, no matter what the cost, my dear. You can’t leave the circus. It’s your home—we’re your family.” The ringmaster paced in front of them, clearly upset.
    “Master Worver, it’s the only way.” Belen looked up at him. “You’ve been like a father to me for five years, but you can’t protect me from my past. Someone has to find out what happened. I’m going to go into those woods where I was found, seek out the village, and discover the truth.”
    “My goodness, no! Let me ask Hautos to look into it. Find a priest to cast an augury.” The ringmaster floundered,mustache drooping. “You shouldn’t risk yourself. It’s very dangerous out there in those woods!”
    “It has to be me,” Belen said in a very small voice. “It’s my history. If I am a dragon … well, who knows? Remembering that can’t be all bad, can it? And if I can help right this wrong, then it’s worth risking whatever danger is out there. Don’t worry, ringmaster. You’ve been so good to me, giving me a home here in the circus, helping me when I was hurt and lost. I won’t forget that, but I can’t ignore this either, nor let someone else look into it for me. This is something I have to do for myself.”
    Worver sank down into an armchair with a groan. His little pet, Tsusu, snatched up a circus program and began to fan him with the edge, making the ringmaster’s curled black mustache quaver. “My poor girl. My poor circus! I’m going to faint. I think I’m going to just drop dead right here in the wagon. Water, please?” Jace quickly poured a glass from a pitcher nearby, and Worver drank it down with a choking sort of gulp. Belen pressed the ringmaster’s hand between hers.
    The White Robe watched all of this in surprise. “Well, I must admit, I’m not used to trusting criminals, or letting them go—even temporarily—once I’ve found them. Still, this situation is highly unusual, and silver dragons have never been known to be violent toward innocents.”He stared down at the woman in silver glitter, his fingers tapping against the sleeve of his robe. He wrinkled his lip and tilted his head in internal debate.
    “Very well,” the wizard said at last. “I will remain here with the circus. Should you flee, abandon your purpose, or in any case not turn yourself in on the third day from today, the circus will pay a hefty penalty. I can assure you, the cost will be so many pieces of steel that it will put this circus completely out of business.”
    There was a small moan from Worver, who dropped the empty water glass.
    “All the performers—the animals—the tents! We’d have to sell everything, let everyone go,” the ringmaster gasped. “We’d be ruined!”
    “Don’t worry, Master Worver,” Jace said, his heart leaping even as Ringmaster Worver shrank further into the chair. “We won’t let you down.”

C HAPTER T HREE
    hree days?” Cerisse, the juggler, tugged on her long auburn braid as if she might pull herself around in circles. Her face was long and sorrowful, filled with indecision. “Only three days? It will take a day to get to the village and back, so you’ll only have two days to snoop