Page 6 of Love Lives

Sepsis.That was the conclusion the doctors came too, anyway. Aldrich didn’t have much medical knowledge. In his line of work, it was generally more important to know how to kill things rather than how to keep them alive. Besides, he was a vampire. He didn’t get sick.

Remy wasn’t so lucky, though. He looked awful. No surprise there. Google told Aldrich that sepsis was a pretty serious thing. Some websites called it the leading cause of death in patients with burn injuries. Aldrich didn’t like the waythatsounded at all.

What he liked even less was his inability to do anything about it.

No, there was one thing he could do.

He could get Jared to the hospital. Jared's blood wasn't as powerful now as it used to be, but it would still help. Remy's family was in hiding, though, and they weren't supposed to travel. The risk of them being spotted or traced or both was simply too high. So Aldrich had to come up with a safe method of transport.

Fortunately, he knew just the witch for the job.

He made his way to Puck's house easily. At least, he thought he did. Problem was, once he arrived there, the house was nowhere within sight. Instead, he found himself staring at an empty lot.

Some sort of magic, it had to be.

Frustration growing, Aldrich pulled out his phone and dialed Puck's number. Seriously, he did not have time for this shit. "Where the hell are you? And where the hell is your house?"

"My, that's quite the greeting," the witch responded.

"Puck."

"My house is exactly where it's always been."

"I'm right outside. C’mon, man, don’t fuck around."

"I can see you. Just give me a minute. Do you know how many wards I have to dismantle before you can set foot into this house?" The witch sighed a little too dramatically. "Seriously, I should never have gotten tangled up in your mess."

"Don't pretend like you didn't get something out of it."

"Not sure it was worth it."

"You're a grown witch. You’ve dug your own grave." If Puck was hoping for sympathy, he wasn't going to get it from Aldrich. After all, he'd harbored similar thoughts to the witch on more than one occasion.

How much easier would his life be right now if he hadn't gotten involved in all this? If he'd never met the dhampirs?

Granted, if Talon hadn't started his little love affair, their sire might still be alive. At least now Aldrich was free.

Kind of.

He shrugged the thought off as Puck's house finally appeared before him.

"Come in," Puck said through the phone. "And hurry up."

Aldrich did. "I need a favor," he told the witch as soon as he'd stepped into the house. It smelled like cinnamon tonight. Way too much cinnamon. There was always some sort of weird smell in the air whenever he visited Puck, though, so Aldrich didn't let that distract him.

"Of course you need a favor. You never just drop by because you want to chat anymore." Puck led him into his living room where the fire place was crackling and sat in a chair in front of it. "Take a seat," he said, motioning to the chair next to him. "And then tell me what's going on."

"I need you to teleport Jared to the hospital. So that his travel can't be detected. Should be child’s play for a witch as powerful as you."

"I could do that," Puck mused. "But why?"

"Because his brother needs his blood."

"Why is that of such pressing concern to you?"

Aldrich shrugged. "Is it so hard to believe that I care about someone else's wellbeing?"

Puck remained quiet for a beat. "He's drawn you in, hasn't he?"