Blind to Men Read Online Free PDF Page A

a woman in
sight. A gust of wind stirred branches, the stream ran its course, the air
smelled of fresh grass.
    "I know . . .
."
    Some of her protector's
words were imperceptible, and she knew she was once more suffering from a bout
of deafness. As frustration threatened to make her fingers twitch, she heard
Kylor again.
    "It'll be done
tomorrow. In the meantime, I'll tell her."
    Dread crept in her
stomach at the sight of her guardian conversing with thin air. After the
blissful moment they'd shared last night, she couldn't bear the thought of her companion
turning into a madwoman.
    "Who are you talking
to?"
    Kylor appeared to freeze
for an instant. Then she held a hand up, but didn’t glance over her.
    "Hush, Anya, trust
me."
    A twig snapped not far
from Kylor, but she ignored the sound and resumed her private discussion.
    "Where's the royal
guard?"
    Her muscles tensed with
frustration at hearing only one side of the conversation. Silence ensued,
quickly broken.
    "Well, that should
give us enough time."
    The woman bowed again
with a respectful gesture. At last, she turned to her, assessing what she
assumed to be a look of concern on her features and uncertainty in her eyes.
    "Sorry, I didn't
mean to upset you."
    "Were you speaking
to someone?"
    She tried to keep her
voice from sounding distressed or panicked as her protector stepped nearer,
looking ill at ease but not insane.
    "I was. To a person
you can't see."
    "Why?"
    Was the woman now going
to tell her she was also blind? Weird things had happened of late, yet she
didn't believe so. Surely, she would have noticed this predicament before.
    "Am I blind as well
as deaf?"
    The day was warm and
beautiful, the last one prior to summer solstice. Kylor sat beside her, grabbed
an apple, bit into the fruit and took her fingers in her hand.
    "Not in the
least."
    Shivering in spite of the
nice day, she stared at her protector’s open face. A long-delayed explanation
was coming her way, and she feared her life would never be the same.

Chapter
Six
    "You've been cursed,
Anya."
    Eyes wide, mouth agape,
she couldn't think of anything but repeat the woman's upsetting words.
    "Cursed. How?"
    "A powerful witch
from Palance put you under a spell."
    She recalled the
conversation that had taken place a day earlier between her mother and
protector. They’d talked about breaking a curse, and for some reason, she was the person who had been afflicted.
    "I don’t remember
being cursed. When did it happen?"
    "Eighteen springs
ago, on the day you were born."
    "Why? What's the
purpose?"
    "That's a long
story, and one I shouldn't yet divulge. But I firmly believe the time has come
for you to understand."
    Her guardian retrieved
her hand gently to grab the goblet. She gulped some water down, and looked into
the distance.
    "First I need to
explain the situation in the Four Kingdoms. At that time, the … and the queen
ruled over the whole territory of Palance."
    The what and the queen? Seeing
her mouth opening, Kylor sealed her enquiry with a finger.
    "No questions, Anya.
Please, listen to my tale."
    She wanted to know who
else ruled but she'd have to wait. As she pressed her lips together, her
protector resumed.
    "The land was rich,
and as a consequence, people lived well. There were skirmishes on the borders
sometimes, that's to be expected, but peace had settled in. Then one summer
solstice, huge, great rocks dropped from the skies. They crashed through the
forest near Palance, and the devastating impact set fire to the woods. Half of
the trees burned down that night. Although few people got hurt, everybody
feared the end was near."
    Picturing massive blocks
of stone falling from the ethers, she couldn't help but interrupt.
    "Rocks don’t fly. What
were they?"
    "Nobody could tell,
but people started whispering about a punishment from the mighty gods. As you
can imagine, consternation quickly grew into fear. That's when a powerful witch
came out of her hole. Her name was Melisande. She hadn’t