Page 12 of Midlife Animal Rescuer Dragon

“Yes, Charlie,” the woman muttered drily. “I see the dinosaur.”

The kid stared, wide-eyed, at one of the T-shirts on the nearest table. Looking at him, Nora saw that the long-sleeved shirt he had on featured a dinosaur as well.

“What kind is that?” she asked him, pointing at his shirt.

He pushed his glasses up his nose, flashing her a grin that revealed a missing tooth. “It’s a Tyrannosaurus rex. It looks similar to the Giganotosaurus, but they’re different. Look—the T. rex only has two digits on each forelimb. The Giganotosaurus hasthree.”

His smile widened, like he was proud of himself for knowing that fact. His mother shot Nora an embarrassed look, as if to say,I’m sorry, he does this all the time.She immediately pulled out a purse.

“We’ll get two of these dinosaur T-shirts,” she said, tucking her auburn hair behind her ear.

A minute later, mother and son were heading away, the kid spouting yet another dinosaur fact.

“He’s adorable,” Nora muttered, grinning to herself. Turning to Henry, she said, “See? I told you I could help. Knowing your customer will take you a long way.”

He rolled his eyes, but she caught a slight twitch of his lips. “Well, we’re stilla long wayfrom five grand. So far, we’ve only made a little over a hundred bucks.”

“Looks to me like more progress than you could’ve made with those boring green tees,” she countered. “Be patient. I’m suremore people will come. We’ll make enough sales to get you that five grand.”

This time, he did smile, and for some reason, she felt her heart flutter lightly in her chest, her insides warming up. They stood only a couple of feet apart, but it was close enough to ignite her from within. His T-shirt hugged his torso, accentuating his biceps and chest. Through the front of his shirt, she thought she could see his abs. Nora’s breathing quickened a little, and for a moment she wondered whether he would object to her redesigning his T-shirt with her magic—preferably with a topless image of him reclining right above the words: FREE KISSES.

Yeah, like that definitely wouldn’t backfire. So far, she hadn’t seen anyone else ogling Henry, but she wasn’t foolish enough to assume she was the only woman around attracted to this man.

Before she could dwell on that thought, he pointed. “You might be right, after all. Looks like we’ve got another customer.”

She followed his gaze, staring at a figure approaching the tent. And her heart sank into the pit of her stomach.

He was more than thirty feet away, but she recognized him instantly. His clothes looked like something out of medieval times: a dark-green tunic over trousers and brown boots, a belt secured around his middle. He had a large, dark-green hood pulled low over his head, blond hair peeking out from underneath.

The figure strode through the crowd, brushing past the townsfolk as he drew nearer. A couple of people frowned at his getup, but most didn’t pay him much notice. Looking at him, Nora felt her mouth go dry.

“No,” she breathed.

In her periphery, she thought she saw Henry move. “What’s wrong?”

“That...that’s not a customer,” Nora said. “That’s the hunter.”

Chapter Five

The Man With No Eyes

I’m done for.

The same three words from earlier echoed through her mind, louder each time than the last. Only this time, she knew it was true. There was no mistake this time. The figure approaching was none other than the being summoned to kill her.

How had he found her so fast? She could’ve sworn she arrived in Sylva only a couple of hours ago. As far as she knew, the hunter didn’t have any magic. He wasn’t a witch or a wizard, just a cold, relentless killer. Somehow, he’d found her over and over again. For a second, Nora couldn’t help thinking that this would be the last time he’d need to.

She thought to perform a spell and disappear again. She could try opening another portal. And then what? It would only take him a couple of hours, if not less, to find her. She turned toward Henry, who was frowning in the direction of the approaching figure.

“Help me.” Her voice came out as a croak. “Please. Do something.”

The hunter was drawing closer. Barely twenty feet away now and still moving through the crowd, heading right for them. As he drew closer, she made out more of his features. His blades were tucked in his belt, almost completely concealed from view. He lifted his head a little, and for a moment she got a glimpse under his hood. His lips were pressed together, his nose sniffing the air, and his eyes...

“He has no eyes,” Henry observed.

She stepped closer to him, her heart almost in her throat. Why wasn’t he doing anything yet? Right now, she was seriously considering opening a portal and leaping into it. The closer the hunter got, the closershegot to her demise.

To her surprise, the hunter paused suddenly, looking around, and sniffed in the air. He took another step closer, then turned, sweeping his head about.