Keeper of the Eye (The Eye of the Sword Book 1) Read Online Free PDF

a good exporter. Whether common supplies from the region like Winslow root or exotics like blood petals shipped in from Tallijor, his typical response was, “I just got a shipment in.” Max hoped today would be no exception.
    He noticed a young woman leaving Brae’s shop as he approached. A stout wool cloak of dark forest green, matching pants, beige shirt and rugged yet worn boots marked her as a traveler who had seen many miles, but her face was soft and smooth. An odd pairing, very different from the weathered, calloused appearance he was accustomed to seeing attached to such clothing. His friend, A’lan, had been a great traveler with a face that held a line for every adventure. Her long, brown hair shimmered in the sunlight, tied back at the nape of her neck except for a few strands that had managed to come loose.
    While this oddity of traveler’s clothing and beauty caught his attention, her face reminded him of someone. And her amber eyes, radiating the sunlight as they did, created a spark of recognition in the far reaches of his mind.
    Max, you’re getting old. He could remember a time when he never forgot a face, and now he found a stranger’s face familiar. He passed her, stealing one last glance, hoping it would jog his memory, then entered Brae’s shop.
    The shopkeeper smiled. “Max!”
    “The Creator’s blessings to you, Brae,” Max responded, wondering why the exporter smiled at him like a cat leaving the milk bowl.
    “So who is she?” Brae asked.
    “Who is who?” came the puzzled reply.
    “What do you mean ‘who is who’?” Brae said a little indignant. “That beautiful picture that was just in here.”
    Max turned, looking out the shop windows. “What picture?” His eyebrows furrowed, painting a mixture of puzzlement and suspicion on his face. Brae did like to play jokes.
    “That beautiful picture of a woman who was just in here. She asked for you.”
    Max’s eyebrows raised, concern replacing puzzlement. “Who? The one in traveler’s clothes?”
    “Yes! A bit odd seeing a lass that beautiful in those clothes. Then again, plenty of things have gotten odd these days.” Max’s head whipped around to the door. “Surely you spoke to her,” Brae continued, “you must’ve passed right by her?”
    “Did she ask for me by name?” Max asked, trying to be nonchalant. Brae’s grin returned to Max’s annoyance. Several of his friends persisted in trying to fix him up with a wife. Apparently, Brae had succumbed to the madness.
    “Nope. Asked for the local healer. Said she’d been to your house, but you weren’t there. I told her you’d probably be making rounds at the Luck of the Lady anytime now. Better hurry, she’s a beauty, that one.”
    “She’s young enough to be my daughter!”
    “Well, then perhaps she has a widowed mother just as striking. Eh?” Brae’s eyebrows jumped several times.
    “Thanks, Brae. I gotta go.”
    Max hurried out of the shop, Brae’s chuckle following him. Bloody fools, all of them. Fixing him up with a wife was a sickness he needed to find a cure for soon before the whole town saw to it he settled down.
    The traveler girl was nowhere in sight. He headed for the inn, his steps a little quicker than normal. Who was she? What did she want? Travelers came and went all the time and occasionally one needed to see the local healer. Why did this girl trouble him? He reminded himself he was well hidden, far from his former life and sixteen years past to boot. He was safe. Besides she would have been a child when he fled Shaladon. Still, that spark of recognition lurked in his mind. Who was she?
    Max rounded the corner and spotted her talking to the innkeeper, Benjamin, underneath the inn’s sign of a lady holding two gold coins. Benjamin pointed at him eliminating any chance of ducking back around the corner. Standing there, Max felt exposed. Benjamin gave him the same smile Brae had. Suppressing his annoyance, Max approached the three-story inn wishing