One Week Later...

Everything had gone so fast that Marty had barely managed to keep track of it all. As soon as they had all gotten home, they immediately packed up all that they could and got the hell out of the city. Gwen was adamant that they would review the security footage and find Marty too, meaning they would now be looking for him as well.

They took buses and trains and taxis till they found the city Blair insisted they could lay low in: Chicago. Blair was adamant he had “friends” that would help them keep a low profile, and after a few calls, Gwen seemed to be at ease with the decision and trusted her brother. These friends helped set up the apartment, which was surprisingly better than both Gwen, Blair and Marty thought it would be, and began to settle in to their new surroundings.

The apartment was far more spacious than Marty’s previous, but it’s extra bedrooms were still being renovated by an unknown crew. Somehow they had taken this room before it was ready. Still, the young man had argued the place was too nice and suspect, but both Gwen and Blair countered that was what made it so perfect; they were now hiding in plain sight.

The twins had gone out of their way to give them the false identity of posing Blair and Marty as a newly married couple, of course without the input of their roommate and upon insistence by Blair.

However, during this whole time, Marty did not have a single moment to ask what the hell was going on. Who were they? Why does Victor Ballz want them? Why on earth was Gwen red now? Those questions he had pondered one-week prior were still unanswered, until today. As both Blair and Gwen came home from a “meeting,” Marty told them to sit down and explain what the hell was happening. As they did so, Blair just came right out and said it.

“I’m a Vampire.”

Marty stared at him dumbly. He worked his jaw for something to say but found nothing.

“And I am an Elf” Gwen explained, pointing to her ears. “But only half. I am also half demon; specifically a succubus. Blair is half-elf too.”

Marty had to take a moment to compose himself before saying anything. The statement was so absurd, yet it made so much sense considering Blair’s pale skin and smallish frame. His sisters red skin also made a lot more sense too.

“So, monsters exist-“

“Yes. Before you ask, yes we used a magic spell to kill Victor. So magic is a thing as well.”

“… Okay.”

“I’m guessing your next question is how does no one know about magic?” Asked Gwendolyn. Marty nodded dumbly. “Alright, here’s the deal. There is a special order that works tirelessly to separate us from the human world. They’ve had many names, but these days were known as the Illuminati. There are many types of what you would consider fantasy creatures living in city streets and deeply in forests, and we like to keep to ourselves and our places in society.”

This was a lot to take in. Marty turned his head away from his roommates and looked at a random spot on a bare wall. So much that he knew had changed. The whole world seemed different from what he once knew, and now here he was in a random apartment in a city he had never been to before, sharing it all with a man and woman he barely knew who were also mythical creatures.

“Wait a minute…” He muttered to himself before looking back at Blair and Gwen again. “So things like Goblins and Unicorns and Orcs exist, right? If those thing live in streets, how does no one see them?”

“This is gonna come across as a cop out answer,” Blair said through a sigh. “But it’s essentially magic. I won't go into the details, mostly cause you wouldn’t understand it, but it’s a **** that emits a pheromone that makes people see as us as human. That is what it does in layman’s terms.”

“Okay, so why can I see your red skin now?”

“I see you’ve noticed my new look, or rather should I say old look?” She said with a small smile, possibly the first one Marty had witnessed from her. “Well when Victor experimented on me while I was asleep, I assume he removed the concoction too.” She motioned a hand down her body. “And the thing about this **** is once someone is aware of the magical world, it no longer affects them. It’s all in the mind you see. I’m using it now, but you have already seen this form, so now you’ll start noticing a lot more weird things strolling along this city.

“What about Blair? Why could I see his ears, teeth and pale skin from the start?” Marty questioned. Blair reached up to his head and poked the tips of said ears.

“Ah, well I’m actually allergic to the ****. Since I look human anyways I don’t really need it. I only take a very mild dose to give me some complexion. People always assume I’m simply born with these or I’m just a weirdo anyway.” Marty was cut off from speaking again. “Again, magic, too hard to explain.”

Marty let out a groan and looked around the room, trying to make sense of something, anything. It had dark red walls and stock photos hung up. Furniture was light, mostly cause they could only bring a minimal number of things, but it was liveable. The apartment complex was a square shape with a courtyard slap bang in the centre. There were three other apartments on his block he could see all their rooms from the window. One man clearly had eccentric taste with his asian style furniture and decor, another always looked dirty and grimy and the last was filled with artwork and expensive looking furniture.

“Are you okay?” Blair asked, placing a tender hand on Marty’s shoulder.

“Yeah, fine,” he replied, letting the hand linger. “So, here’s the big question. What did that guy want from you?”

“He’s a maniacal CEO who found out magic existed. What do you think he wanted? He wanted to transform it into a weapon.”

“A weapon?”

“Arcane magic is very powerful,” Gwen explained. “He wanted to create a fusion of it, and nuclear energy, to create the ultimate bomb; a bomb that would be big enough to wipe out this entire state. You can’t just take that stuff either; you have to give it anyway willingly. That’s why he needed us alive.”

“Could he have really done that?”

“I doubt it. More likely he would’ve fucked up and levelled the whole city. The results would have been catastrophic. You did a lot of good that day,” Blair assured, giving a small smile.

He placed his hand now on Marty’s leg, swirly a spiral shape on it. “Thank you for saving me.”

“D-d-don’t mention it,” he replied, nervousness, or was it excitement taking hold.

“No, it’s not excitement. Don’t be stupid,” he mentally argued with the narrator.

“No, we mean it.” Gwen stood up and put a hand on her chest. “You saved me and my brother when most would have abandoned us to our fate. I swear on my honour and clans honour, that I will pledge my life to you. You will always have me by your side, no matter what comes.”

“Seconded,” Blair said nonchalantly.

Marty simply nodded, completely at a lost as what to say. He at least had answers, but he wasn’t entirely sure if that was a comfort at this stage.

“… How are you twins?”

“Were not,” Blair said. “Gwen is older, we just act like twins.”

“Right, so we have an issue.” Gwen said as she took the initiative to sit beside Marty.

“Wh-what issue?”

“With the rest of the rooms currently being renovated still, we have only one bedroom, it’s a double bed and we have a coach so two of us can take that bed and one can get the coach. Alternatively you could fit two on the coach but we’ll leave that to you?”

“To me?”

“You saved us, hero,” Blair practically purred. ‘So who gets what?”

“The way I see it you can either share with Blair and I get the coach,” pointed out Gwen. “Myself and Blair share and you get the coach, or if you so wish you can solely get the bed; you’ve earned it.” Gwen rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. “And honestly, I don’t feel comfortable sharing a bed with you, no offence. So I’d appreciate it if that option was off the table?”

Marty blinked slowly and rubbed his eyes in exhaustion, wanting nothing more than a peaceful night.

“So there are your options. I share with Sis, you take the coach, or…” Blair sat down on Marty’s lap and gave a little wiggle of his skinny rump. “… We share the bed.”