Chapter 17: Saving Riley

"I'll be right back." Kurt said and left. We were on a huge airport. Paris really was beautiful. It was around twelve in the afternoon. The rest of us headed to some shaded areas.

"Thank God I remembered to bring some long-sleeved shirts, hoodies, and sunglasses for our disguises." Blaine said. I was wondering what they were gonna do about that. He looked down at his phone and smiled. "Kurt's outside. He has a surprise for us." We picked up our bags and headed outside. I looked around but couldn't see Kurt. All of a sudden a sporty car pulled up to us.

"Hey boys, like my new car?" Kurt asked flashing a smile. I looked at Blaine to see him staring lovingly at Kurt. We put our bags in the trunk and got in.

"Did you steal this car?" I asked.

"No! I borrowed it without asking. You see it was just sitting there with this for sale sign on it. And we're in Paris, so I decided that I wanted a new car." Kurt said as we pulled out of the airport parking lot.

"This is pretty nice. What type of car is this?" Langston asked.

"It's a 2013 Bentley Continental GTC V8." Kurt said. As I listened to them talk about cars, I decided to think about what would happen when I got back. I know I left Owen disappointed. I hope he would forgive me. I know Zoey is going to come up with a great excuse for why I left. At least, I hoped so. I didn't realize that I had nodded off until Langston woke me up.

"Hey, wake up." He said. I rubbed my eyes and yawned. Those seven hours on planes were tiring.

"What is it?"

"Well, it appears that they feel sorry for him. So they decided to ask him to join them." Langston said.

"That doesn't surprise me." Kurt said. I was confused.

"Why?"

"It's like Langston said, they love gifted vampires. Anyone with extraordinary gifts could be useful to them. Like Langston's visions, Riley's mind-reading, Blaine's illusions, and my mind- control. We all prove very useful to them." Wow, so much information to take in. But there was still one thing on my mind.

"Langston?"

"Yeah?"

"Okay this has been bugging me since we were on the plane. Why is it that you can see this with such amazing clarity, but when things are distant, you seem to have trouble?"

"Oh. Well I knew this was gonna be asked eventually. You see when things are instantaneous and nearby, I can see it fine. Plus I was really concentrating. The things that are distant, well, they seem to take on a future of their own. That's why it's just previews. Besides I can see vampires a lot better than humans. Riley especially because we're so close."

"You can see me."

"Yeah, but not as visibly." He said. I decided to rest my eyes for a few more minutes. But it turned into about two hours, because when I woke up we were at the apartment. I yawned for what seemed like the millionth time and got out. It was a beautiful apartment. It sort of reminded me of Versailles.

"Alright boys this is it. Our Paris home, I did the interior decorating of course." Kurt said as he tightened his scarf around his neck and grabbed some bags. We went inside and I stared in awe. It was huge. It had a mix of everything black and white. It had beautiful details and rough furniture. It had large open spaces, mainly because the building as Kurt had said was built in the 18th century. They had gold plated life-size mirrors in the living room. It felt just like the old times. God I loved history.

"This place is beautiful." I said. They placed the bags in the living room and sat down. We had a lot of planning to do.

"So what now?" I asked.

"I've been checking up on Riley and so far he's trying to figure something out. He told the Guardians that he wasn't interested in joining them. Now he has to get creative. But the good news is that he doesn't have a specific plan. So this buys us some time." Langston said. Good. The faster we save him the better.

"I just don't understand why he just couldn't come back. I mean he knew Jay was out there." I said.

"I suppose he thought that he was protecting you. He should have known that the only way to protect you is to be with you at all times…" but he was cut off. I saw him stare into space for about 10 seconds before he came to.

"What now?" Blaine asked.

"Damn it! He's come up with a plan." He said and lay back against the couch. "He's decided that some type of event that they're having is when he's gonna make his move."

"An event?" Kurt asked.

"What move is he making?" I asked.

"It seems that he's gonna attack someone on a stage. That way they can see firsthand that vampires exist. He knows that by doing this the Guardians will be forced to kill him."

"Oh my God. When?" I asked.

"I don't know. All I know is that it's at night. At some kind of event." Langston said and sighed. I watched as Kurt went to the window and looked out.

"Uh, guys? I think I know what event we're talking about here." Blaine said as he showed us his tablet.

"Oh no, it's the Annual Parisian Masquerade. It's the biggest event in the city. Riley is really pushing his luck. If he disrupts this event the whole city will run amok." Kurt said.

"I don't understand, what is this event?" I asked.

"It's basically stating that Paris is rid of vampires. It's a celebration of sorts. It's big. I knew something was up. I saw him wearing a mask and a cloak. Damn him!" Langston said.

"Okay so we know its tonight. How do we stop him?" I couldn't let him do this. He had to know the truth.

"Ooh I know, we dress up and infiltrate the party. That way Zane can find him and stop him. See? Easy." Kurt said.

"No it's not. You see it was like I was telling Zane earlier, if Riley hears any of us, he's be forced to retaliate even faster. But with Zane there instead, we might have a chance." Langston said. So what I was hearing was we're going to this event?

"Alright, I'll get started on making the costumes. Zane, you get some sleep. You're gonna have a big night tonight." Kurt said. I went to one of the spare rooms and laid down. I really hoped this plan turns out right.

I woke up a few hours later. I looked outside to see that it was dark. Okay so that means it's almost time. I went into the bathroom and took a shower. The warm water felt awesome against my skin. When I came out I was dressed in some sweats. I saw Kurt's look of disdain.

"Ugh! I hate sweats. I think they are the most vile articles of clothing." He said. Langston just rolled his eyes. I sat down next to him.

"Anything new?" I asked.

"Not really. I mean the vision is still the same. The only thing missing now is the time. He keeps debating on the time."

"Well he sure has a lot of options. The party goes on until midnight. And then that's when the real fun begins." Blaine said sarcastically. I saw Langston's eyes go hazy again. I knew he was having a vision. Hopefully Riley's considering dropping the whole thing. But sadly that wasn't the case.

"What does that mean?"

"It means that the Guardians will be drawing a crowd to go with them. They'll probably take them to some secluded location and kill them. That's usually what these kinds of events are for." Kurt said.

"Oh great, he's chosen a time; midnight." Langston said as he rubbed his temples. "My brother is going to be the death of me." Why is it that midnight seems to be the most popular choice in these types of situations?

"Okay so we have about half an hour. We have to get to the Champ de Mars." Blaine said as he put on his cloak. I grabbed my outfit and went to change.

"Why there?" I yelled.

"Because that's where the party is. It's this large green space located in the 7th arrondissement." Blaine said. I think I read about that somewhere in my history class.

"Okay?"

"It's a pretty big place that usually draws a huge crowd. That's what Riley's going for." Langston said. I looked in the mirror one last time. Kurt smiled. It was now or never.

"Alright, let's go."

All in all it was a pretty nice event. Everyone was dressed up. The women wore beautiful dresses, while the men wore tuxedos with cloaks. It was definitely something out of The Phantom of the Opera. There were balloons everywhere. I saw a lot of posters too. They even had floats. It was very festive.

"Okay where is he?" I asked. Langston was beside me. He was wearing a blue tux with a black cape and a blue eye mask. Kurt and Blaine were wearing matching gold tuxes with black capes as well as gold eye masks. I wore a white tux with a white cape and a white eye mask.

"He's still hiding. We can't get too close or he's gonna rush into it." Langston said as he stood by me. I hoped we'd find him soon. I could help but grip my chest. I felt my heart start to beat over 100 beats per second.

"Great. There are so many people here." I said as we wove in between the people. There had to be at least over a thousand.

"Yeah. Tons of people from all over Europe and other countries come to see these types of events. It's a social circus." Kurt said as he grabbed a cup. "We have to blend in." I grabbed one too.

"Guys I just saw him." We all looked towards Langston. "He's over there." We all looked towards where he was pointing. And sure enough Riley was on his way to the stage. "It seems that he hid in the bushes. Zane you have to go now!"

"What about you?" I said as I started to walk away.

"He'll hear us! We have to get out of his range. Run!" He said and they left. I took off towards the stage. I had to dodge a lot of people, but it was for the one I loved. I decided to ditch the cape and mask and just ran. I knew I had only minutes to spare. As I got closer, I could see him with perfect clarity. He had his black face mask on and wore a full black tux and cloak. My heart started to pound. I picked up more speed.

I noticed that a little boy was with his father laughing at something the guy was saying on stage. He was on a big screen so everyone could see him. I ignored everything that was happening and kept running. I had to get to Riley in time before the little boy could see him. But I also noticed something. The little boy was trying to get his father to see Riley! I shouted even though nothing could really come out.

"Riley, stop!" I yelled. It was obvious that he couldn't see me. But I trudged forward anyway. "Look this way!" I heard the man say something about it being midnight as I collided with Riley's body. I pulled back and grabbed his face.

"Hey! It's me look!" I said. He opened his eyes to stare at me.

"Wow! I killed that guy already? And now I'm dead? Damn they work fast. It doesn't even look like anything happened." He said. Oh God how I missed that voice. I pushed him out of sight and into some bushes.

"No, no, it's me for real." I said as I rubbed his face. He looked at me in shock and hugged me. It felt like my wounds were disappearing. I never felt happier.

"You're actually alive?" he asked as he nuzzled his face in my hair.

"Yeah, if you would have just come to see me…but that doesn't matter. Look in my heart I know that you did what you did to protect me and I love you for that. And when I found out that you were willing to go through with this, I had to stop you. I figured if you could just see me again. I couldn't let you do this, especially over me. You didn't have to have any guilt over anything. And now that you know I'm alive, I'm willing to walk away." I said as I felt some tears forming. He tilted my face up so that I was looking at him.

"I need you to understand something. I didn't have any guilt at all. The fact of the matter is I just couldn't bear to know that you were dead. Living without you was tough, but I knew you were alive so that gave me some relief. But finding out that you were no longer on this earth, I couldn't bear it."

"I don't understand. All the stuff that you said in the woods…"

"Were complete and utter lies. And you were able to accept that so straightforwardly." He said. Was he mad? Of course I accepted it! Actually I didn't. But he doesn't need to know that.

"There's a reason for that. I'm human! I could die any day of the week. And you didn't need to be subjected to that. I'm pretty much nothing compared to a vampire." I said. He put his hand over my mouth.

"I never wanna hear you say that about yourself ever again. You are the most important thing in the world to me now. You're what makes me happy Zane. You're everything I could have ever wanted and more." I smiled as he leaned down to kiss me. The feelings rushing through me were monumental. I have him back. And I was never gonna let him go, ever. But I heard someone clear their throats behind us. They were also in cloaks.

"We don't mean to break up this little moment, but Marco requests to see you again." I couldn't help the shiver that ran up my spine.

"Considering that there was no harm done, I don't need to see him or need your services anymore." Riley said.

"But it would benefit you. So do it." The tall, burly guy said.

"Okay, but uh, Zane I need you to go back out there and have some fun. I'll be back soon." Riley said.

"Actually he can't do that. We have instructions to bring him with us." The shorter on said. Riley instantly stood in front of me.

"Hell no." Just then Langston, Kurt and Blaine showed up. I never thought I would be so happy to see them.

"Hey now, we're supposed to be at amazing event. Let's not ruin it, 'kay?" Kurt said. The two guys just smirked. I noticed a third guy come out of nowhere. He took off his hood and looked at us. He was tall, had short dirty blood hair and resembled a weasel.

"I don't know that's going on but we need to go, now." He said.

"Oh, h-hello Dylan." Blaine uttered. Dylan rolled his eyes and led the way to a van. Riley smiled at me and grabbed my hand. I looked back at the others and saw that their smirks were gone and fear was there instead. We all approached the van and got in. I held on to Riley as tight as I could.

We arrived at some building and went inside. It was huge. I believe if my memory serves me right, it was the Chapelle du Chateau de Vincennes. It was beautiful. But I couldn't admire the beauty because we were all jammed inside an elevator. I looked at Riley and he gripped my hand tighter. I noticed that all of our companions had red eyes.

"Are you frightened?" he asked. I've been through a lot of stuff the past few months. So no, I wasn't really all that scared. But I did feel nervous.

"No, I've seen worst. You?" I asked.

"No." he said simply. I could hear Dylan grunting. It was as if he didn't believe him. We walked past a desk with a very handsome receptionist.

"J'espère que vous apprécierez votre séjour." He said. I watched as Kurt held on to Blaine as Riley held on to me, defensively.

"Don't worry I only have eyes for you." I heard Blaine say.

"I know. If Sebastian was here he'd be all over him." Kurt said.

"He's a human right?" I asked.

"Yeah." Riley said.

"I'm confused. Does he not know?"

"Yeah he knows."

"Huh, but why? Oh my God, he wants be too?"

"Yes and maybe he will be." I heard the tall guy said.

"Or maybe we'll just make him a part if the menu." Dylan smirked. We all came to a door and stopped.

"What now?" I asked.

"You are about to meet the leaders." Kurt said as the doors were opened.

A/N: And I leave you with another Cliffhanger. It took me a minute to come up with this chapter. Had some other things brewing. More to come soon. Read and Review. Non-members can review too. The receptionist said "I Hope you enjoy your stay." Btw. XOXO ShadowBeauty. Oh and my Glee story Dirty Little Secrets will be updated soon.