Where are my parents?

Haroon shimmered into the head council member's chambers. The room was dim, lit only by the ambient glow from the data panels lining the walls. Torock stood at the far end, poring over ancient-looking documents.

"Yes, Haroon, I'm busy," Torock said sharply without turning around. "What do you want?"

"They know." Haroon’s breath was shallow. “What do you mean they know?”

Torock turned slowly, his face tightening. “Who knows what?”

“Seth and Idris. They’re in the archives. As we speak!”

Torock slammed the document on the desk. “Then stop them!”

“I tried,” Haroon said, lowering his voice. “Too many people were around. It would’ve drawn attention.”

Torock’s jaw clenched. “Then it’s time. We deploy the guard.”

Haroon shook his head. “We can’t do that. It’ll be too obvious... head council... respectfully.” He bowed his head slightly, eyes fixed on the floor.

“Thud.” Torock slammed his palm on the desk, making the crystal decanter on the shelf tremble. “That darn Seth, always poking his nose where it doesn’t belong! We’ll have to accelerate our plans—faster than we wanted.”

“What do we do now?” Haroon asked.

Torock leaned over the desk. “Get rid of the evidence. Go to his parents’ old domicile. Destroy the dome and anything they might have left behind.”

Haroon hesitated. “What about the scroll?”

Torock's eyes narrowed. “You can’t remove the scroll from the archives. It’s protected. But cover what we can. We’ll deal with the two of them later. Go. Now.”

Haroon shimmered out of the room in a flash.

Torock crossed to the back wall, where a series of buttons were embedded into the polished obsidian. He pressed one.

“Ninety-proof cognac, my blend,” he said.

A panel slid open revealing a sleek, elegant black bottle. He poured the cognac into a crystal glass, then crossed the room to another concealed panel. This one revealed a small vial with a dark purple liquid. He shook it once, watched it shimmer, then poured it into the bottle.

“20°C, please.”

He placed the bottle on a special shelf. A red wax seal formed around the cork. Torock swirled the bottle, sniffed it delicately, and smiled wickedly.

“Perfect.”

Meanwhile, Seth and Idris arrived at Seth's former domicile. The air was thick with the scent of dust and time.

“Wow,” Seth said, stepping through the threshold. “This place brings back memories.”

“No time for reminiscing,” Idris replied. “We have to hurry.”

“What are we looking for?”

“Anything—any evidence of what happened to my parents or where they went.”

Idris pointed. “Seth, what’s that over there?”

Seth crouched down. “Blood... and a lot of it.”

He swiped his mark. “Shine blue light.” The room flickered into an eerie hue, revealing dried blood smeared across the ceiling, the walls, and the floor.

“Whoever it was… they put up a fight,” Seth said quietly.

They searched the room methodically. Suddenly, a wooden floorboard creaked.

“What was that?” Idris whispered.

Seth stepped again. “Something’s under here.”

Idris dropped to his knees and began tearing up the boards. Beneath, he found several boxes filled with yellowed folders and scattered papers.

“Is this what we’re looking for?” Idris handed several vanilla folders to Seth.

Seth flipped one open. “There’s too much to read here. Let’s take it back to my domicile.”

He touched his mark. “Send home.”

Suddenly—“tap tap tap tap tap.”

“You hear that?” Idris asked.

“Yeah. Someone’s running.”

“Let’s go!”

A voice crackled from above: “Five seconds until the domicile is demolished.”

“Five... four…”

They ran full speed, diving through the front entrance as the entire building collapsed behind them into a compact cube of debris.

They lay on the ground gasping.

“That was close,” Idris muttered.

“Too close.”

“You didn’t set that to demolish?”

“No. Someone else did. They were trying to hide something… or kill us.”

Seth swiped his mark again. “Home.”

The sky dimmed with the descent of the third orb. Nightfall was near.

Inside Seth’s domicile, they heard faint rustling—someone was already there.

“Be ready,” Seth whispered, touching his mark.

They crept into the living room. Papers were strewn across the floor. Heth sat calmly in a chair, sipping tea.

Seth immediately touched his mark. “Paper and box, mind’s eye.”

Boxes and folders flew into his mind's eye. flooding it with the documents from earlier.

“Oh come on!” Heth groaned, nearly spilling his tea.

“Sorry, old friend. It was necessary. We have company,” Seth said coldly.

Just then, Torock entered the room.

“Good evening,” he said with a sly grin. “I hope you don’t mind. I let myself in. Saw the papers and got curious.”

“Net trick,” Torock said, raising a brow.

“Greetings, Council Member Idris,” Torock added.

Idris gave a nod. “Greetings. What brings you out this late, Head Council Member?”

Torock stepped forward. “We got off on the wrong foot. I wanted to bring a peace offering.” He produced a sleek, black bottle with gold inlay.

“I thought we could share a toast. Let bygones be bygones.”

Seth, though wary, nodded. “Let me get some glasses. Ice or no ice?”

“I’ll take ice,” Torock said.

“With this cognac, none for me,” Idris added.

In the kitchen, Seth slipped an absorption orb into the ice tray and swirled it.

He returned with three glasses. Torock broke the seal and poured the drinks.

Seth leaned in to Idris. “Follow my lead.”

Torock raised his glass. “To new friendships.”

They clinked glasses. Torock drank deeply.

Seth and Idris followed, letting the absorption orb do its work.

“Well,” Torock said, setting his glass down, “it’s getting late. I’ll see you fellas in the morning. Be well.”

He took the bottle and cork, smirked, and exited quickly.

“Why’d he leave so fast?” Idris asked.

“Because he tried to poison us,” Heth said flatly.

Seth stared at the three glasses. Two empty. One untouched.

“You think the Head Council tried to poison us?”

“Yes. But don’t worry. The orb in the ice neutralized it.”

Idris made a face. “Disgusting, Seth. You couldn’t just say we didn’t want any?”

“Then he’d know we know he’s behind it all,” Seth replied. “This way, we buy time.”

“Time for what?”

Seth smiled. “The next phase of my plan.”

He pointed to the bathroom. “After you.”