Rescued

In the helicopter, Mason tried to compose herself, tried to stop shaking. The horror of the battle that had raged around her was so much, and had happened so fast, that her mind could not take it all in. Swift and terrible, it was over now, and her current shaking was due to the adrenalin surge wearing off. Lucille was between Mason and Vlad Strauss, the Club Manager. Mason's worry now focussed totally on Lucille, who seemed unable to recover from the stake that had been plunged through her heart. The Ventrue primogen seemed unaware of her rescue, lost in a nightmarish catatonia from which she could not awaken. Mason wanted to ask her rescuers if this was normal for vampires who had had stakes through the heart, but the helicopter was far too noisy for conversation. So she stroked Lucille in an attempt to soothe and hoped very hard that she would recover soon. Tears filled her eyes but went unshed.

The sky had begun to lighten just slightly as the helicopter landed; the Prince and his progeny hurried inside with Lucille, the pilot and driver carrying the staked Malkavian anarch between them, leaving Mason to bring up the rear. She paused a moment to watch the gathering pre-dawn light, the relief of rescue welling up inside her and the tears finally falling. She wiped her eyes dry and followed the rest in.

The Prince and Club Manager would take care of Lucille, they assured Mason, as soon as they were able tomorrow night. But she should go home, and as it was too close to day to be safe for Lucille to accompany her, the Prince sent a driver to take her back to her apartment. Mason sat quietly in the back of the car with her thoughts. Trusting her employer's fellow Ventrue to care for her well, as they had shown their caring and competency very vividly already this night, Mason's thoughts turned from worry about Lucille to anger at those who had hurt her. The anarchs. Vivid pictures of Roderick putting the bag over Lucille's head, then trying and trying to get a stake through her heart, and Mason burned with anger at him, how dare he... of Geeves making his horrible threats, using Lucille's care for Mason against her, and a pang of guilt crept over Mason at this thought quickly becoming further fury at Geeves, for doing that, turning their perfect bond into something tainted... of Luthor looking into Lucille's eyes and making her cry and writhe, even staked, denying he'd done anything in such a patently ashamed manner, that Mason just knew he had done something, some vampire power, to hurt Lucille. She seethed inside, rage building, until she felt the monstrosity inside her, slumbering, stir into half-awareness. Quickly she focused on something else, keeping her control tight, she would NOT succumb, her willpower prevailed and she felt calmer, though she also felt something unfamiliar, a hammering at the cage in her heart. Ghouls have a beast too, though it is not so powerful as the vampire's, it is there, and can make them frenzy if sufficiently provoked. This was something Mason had been told but until now she had never felt it for herself. She felt afraid, deep down, but strong -- strong enough to keep it caged, forever. Yes, forever.

The driver left her at the entrance to the apartment buildings as the darkly golden sun made bloody red streaks on the clouds. Dawn, and she took the stairs up to her apartment, burning off a bit of the energy she'd caged in simple physical effort. She entered her security codes and went inside, mind racing ahead to think what she would tell Nicholas and Constance of what had just happened...