The Eyes of Cordiayari
"All the other eyes began to close again, but his were still there. Through snow falling increasingly heavily, his eyes continued to be there. His eyes would follow me to my death.
The eyes of Cordiayari."
About this Work
Celia is writing from the near future, reflecting on what she can remember of her immediate past. She is plagued with constant hallucinations, vivid dreams, and almost complete amnesia about who she is, what powers she has, and what she has been doing up until this point. She is writing with one mission in mind: to please her beloved “prince”, who seems to be dictating her every move.
Terrence is an aspirational scientist who has been desiring to study Celia for years. He believes she is the Ultelkyu: the most powerful being in the world whose coming means the world is on the brink of collapse. Desperate to get research funding to further his academic future, Terrence follows Celia from one world to the next to study her without her consent.
As their two paths converge, Celia and Terrence will become entrapped in a story of love, manipulation, and political plots beyond either of their understandings. As the reader follow’s Celia’s hazy prose and Terrence’s potentially self-interested musings, they will be left wondering: who’s right, who’s sane, and who’s the real villain of this story?
Glowing eyes were staring down at me, affixed on me with vivid fascination. They belonged to a person, I think, or a creature of some kind, made entirely of roaring hot fire, which felt hot and threatening rather than warm and comforting against my skin.
The creature — person — sat next to me, still staring at me, looking as though I were the most enchanting object the world had ever seen. Perhaps it wasn't wrong, either.
I was terrified — so terrified — that my body once more began to tremor. I was desperate. ... I didn't want to hurt him ... but if he was really a threat...
...
He was just a bit breathless.
Something about it gave me comfort.
Right when I was about to strike up a conversation, I began to feel my stomach lurch in pain.
It was subtle at first, but it quickly progressed, until I was struck with the overwhelming urge to cough.
Her mouth had turned up into the faintest traces of a smile, but she kept looking forward.
Was her face indicating pleasure?
What was she doing to me?
It struck me then, as it had so many times in the abstract, that Celia has the power to kill me.