かに question

(http://imgur.com/cCa7bZL) Description of a saint during お目見え.
I'm not really sure what to make of the 2nd part of the sentence.
Is this かに short for かのように?

Thanks

Yeah, the writer would intend to mean かのように. That's grammatically wrong, though.

How come it's wrong?
I know that かに can be used with 見える, but then the counterfactual meaning is lost (according to Dictionary of Adv. Japanese Grammar). Is it wrong to use かに unless it's with 見える? I think 人の手を拒む is counterfactual, though. Even so, it's a strange way to describe what "clear arms and shoulders (skin)" look/are like. Maybe the meaning of 拒む is 「進むのをとどめる。はばむ。」instead of the usual "refuse" meaning? *shrugs*

There is no problem ～かに見える, 思える, 感じられる or like that. These phrases express a state as a set, as same as ～かのようだ. The problem is in the combination of かに and 透き通っていた. It's necessary to specify that the description preceding かに is a simile, e.g., 人の手を拒むかのように/拒むがごとく透き通っていた.