Crimson purity, p.1
Crimson Purity, page 1
Crimson Purity
The Shifter Chronicles 15
Blood Book Three
M.D. Grimm
Crimson Purity
The Shifter Chronicles 15
Blood Book Three
By M.D. Grimm
Cover Art by Kris Norris
Copyright 2023 M.D. Grimm
Smashwords Edition
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Table of Contents
Note to Readers
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Epilogue
About This Book
About M.D. Grimm
Other Titles by M.D. Grimm
Connect with M.D. Grimm
Note to Readers
The events in this story partially overlap those in the previous book, Red Sun. While reading Red Sun is not necessary to understand the happenings in this story, there will be a couple of storylines from the previous book continued and resolved in Crimson Purity. And, as always, there will be cameos of reoccurring secondary characters from previous books.
Prologue
Zan niquittoaya ye ni Mexicatl mani ya huiya nohtlatoca tequantepec ni yahui polihuin chittepehua a ya ye choca in tequantepehua o huaye.
Ma ca qualania nohueyotehua Mexicatli polihui chile.
Citlalin in popocaya ipan ye moteca y za ye polihui a zan ye xochitecatl ohuaye.
(I foresaw, being a Mexican, that our rule began to be destroyed, I went forth weeping that it was to bow down and be destroyed.
Let me not be angry that the grandeur of Mexico is to be destroyed.
The smoking stars gather together against it; the one who cares for flowers is about to be destroyed.)
~Aztec Song, written in Otomi
Diego squeezed into the crowded house. He pushed past his parents, his brothers, and his numerous cousins to slip his lean body into the front of those gathered. He got a few looks and eyerolls but no one stopped him. They all knew he needed accommodation and allowed him to position himself so he could see their master shifter unobstructed.
Eztli, the coyote master shifter, scanned her pack as they gathered inside her small home. She owned a large plot of land outside Mexico City and claimed to have little use for a big house. She spent most of her time as her coyote exploring the dwindling woodland parks that she’d told them were once lush and expansive. She’d lived a long life, as all master shifters did, and used to tell stories of her youth, before the conquistadors came. Before the people known to modern-day scholars as the Aztecs had diminished and disappeared. She didn’t tell those stories anymore.
It was rare for her to send out the call to her entire pack, demanding an urgent meeting. Due to many unable to be there in person, the more tech-savvy had set up a Zoom call to make sure everyone was included. Since there were a couple of hundred in her pack, many her direct descendants, it was the only way to answer her summons.
Diego regarded his alpha. She was short and stocky, her skin naturally dark brown, and tanned darker by the sun. She had delicate features with slender hands and feet. She wore colorful dresses and shawls, her long brown hair always restrained in a bun at the base of her neck. She didn’t appear older than forty, and it was in her dark eyes that her true age shone through. She held centuries of wisdom and experience within her gaze as well as a practical and often cold demeanor that left many with the impression she was heartless. Diego figured that anyone who’d lived as long as her would have to find a way to disconnect from the continual death and grief of all those around them. The world continued to change while she didn’t.
Eztli had an intense, undeniable presence, like a weight to the air surrounding her like a cloak. Even humans who didn’t know about shifters would give her a wide berth and wary glances. She wasn’t one to mess with and neither did she indulge in nonsense.
“Quiet down and listen up!” she said in Spanish.
Diego focused on her lips, at the way they formed words. He assumed everyone settled, since he couldn’t hear them. They stopped fidgeting and finally stilled. In his world of silence, he was intent to not miss a single syllable.
“A month ago I was contacted by the Mexican Agency, and they were acting as messenger for the US Agency.”
People shifted around him. Diego didn’t dare look away from her lips.
“To get a handle on the Knights of the Dawn, the agencies have started to reach out to the large packs and herds and other shifter clans. They need intel and are requesting resources. I have recently learned that Nordik, the bear master shifter, is working closely with them. It seems his true mate is an agent named Poe.”
More restless fidgeting.
“Since the Knights are targeting us, I have agreed to an alliance on a trial basis. Our enemies are becoming more brazen, and we also need the resources the agencies can provide. And if Nordik can put his trust in them, and can find a mate with one of them, then I must see it as a sign.”
She paused and glanced at Diego with a raised eyebrow.
He nodded, letting her know he was following her words.
“Just yesterday I was contacted by Merlin himself, who seems to have left his self-imposed isolation.”
Diego gasped and he assumed the others did as well. His inner coyote drew back his ears and ducked his head in anxiety. The Master Shifter of All Shapes getting involved?
“Glory, the eagle master shifter, has also joined the alliance with the agencies. And Merlin himself urged me to accept the offer and to help as I can. Since our Father speaks cryptically, I have no details and only vague assumptions. But he urged me to know that a resolution is near at hand, and that Arcas is nearing his goal. He also claims to have seen Phoenix’s hand in recent events. I can say for certain, that doesn’t bring me any comfort.”
Diego’s coyote whined, and he clamped his mouth shut to keep the sound inside. What did that mean? Phoenix was the ancient deity of the first shifters and rumored to be Merlin’s mother. While many still believed in her, including him, certain packs and clans preferred their own, more modern deities, which were linked to their culture—many wolves believed in Fenris, and cats worshiped Bast. But bird shifters, the most elusive and considered extinct until recently, had never swayed in their worship of her.
And Merlin? Merlin was active again? Master shifters could claim direct descendancy from him, which accounted for their long life span.
He rubbed his face. What would a “resolution” look like? Dread knotted his gut.
“He also shared something with me, which the Mexican Agency confirmed a few days ago, that Arcas is after the blood of master shifters. Nordik, himself, had blood taken from him by the Knights a year ago. It’s most likely a spell.”
Diego swallowed hard. True magic was rare in modern times but considering agents were descendants of beings called fae, it wasn’t surprising it could still be practiced. And many considered shifters as creatures of magic.
“We need to be constantly alert,” she said. “If they’re after master shifters, it would make sense that I could be a target. Therefore, I will retire to the Parque nacional Iztaccíhuatl-Popocatépetl. But do not assume I am retreating. I expect regular updates on what is happening in my home.” She eyed those gathered, even the ones on Zoom. “Who lives in Mexico City?”
Diego, as well as many others, raised their hands.
“Who lives in Puebla?”
Others raised their hands.
She took a tally of those who lived in the major cities around the Parque.
“The agencies will be sending us manifests of those flying in and out of the airports, as well as intel on any who raise suspicion. We are to follow them and report on their movements, discreetly. Keep in contact with each other, children. If you notice any of your targets journeying to other cities, notify a fellow pack member of that city to follow up. Do not deviate from your routine radically. We don’t know what the knights know, and we don’t want to raise suspicion. We are to be eyes and ears until I say different, yes?”
Nods all around.
Eztli raised an eyebrow before pointing.
Diego turned and spotted one of his brothers with his hand up.
Ácatl said, “Pardon me, Alpha. But why are we doing the Agency’s work for them?”
Diego swung his head back around.
She scowled. “We aren’t. The knights want us dead. The agencies were founded to see that didn’t happen. They have been doing our work for us. Now it’s time to pull our own weight. Do not think I do this lightly. But I have seen the growing chaos of the world, and I alone of all of you know just how much the world has changed. The knights are like a rabid dog let off its leash.”
Diego barely hid his smirk.
“I will send out lists of who you should contact if you spot a knight or a potential target of theirs. Do not, at any time, approach a knight by yourself. Do not act a hero. Do not throw your life away. Call your contact. Call your back-up. This is non-negotiable. Understood?”
More nods all around.
“Dismissed.”
Diego turned and was grabbed by Tupoc, the brother closest to him in age, only a year older. He sighed and didn’t fight it when Tupoc dragged him to their parents. His other brothers were gathered close, and as a unit of eight, they left the house into the fresh, warm air.
Acalan, his father, signed using LSM as well as spoke. “You will stay with Ohtli for the time being. He doesn’t live far from you.”
Diego wrinkled his nose, and his coyote snarled. He was thirty-four, and they still treated him like a child. He shook his head sharply.
He hadn’t been born completely deaf, so he’d learned to read and speak before the degeneration had progressed. Strangely enough, however, when he’d reached puberty and shifted into his coyote for the first time, a bit of hearing returned to his right ear. It was faint, though, and he couldn’t hear distant sounds or if someone was shouting close to him. He could hear the normal speech of a single person at his side. Surgery and implants were out of the question due to his shifting, as well as his accelerated healing abilities. He’d accepted it long ago, and had found peace in the silence.
“Ichtaca, please do as we ask.” Tozi, his mother, also signed and spoke. While he was grateful they had learned and taught him to sign, their efforts couldn’t hide the fact they were disappointed that he was mostly deaf. He also couldn’t convince them to use his middle name, Diego, the one he preferred. The one he’d used on all legal documents since he was eighteen.
With another sigh, Diego signed, “Father did not ask. He commanded. I am not helpless. You treat me as if I am helpless. You need to stop.”
“We are just concerned for your safety,” Tozi signed.
“I know. That is fine. But do not dictate my life. I am an adult.” He hated to see the fear in his mother’s eyes and gentled his signing, making it less sharp and curt. “I will contact you if I need help.”
He wasn’t exactly lying. If he was in dire need, he would contact them. But he knew, without a doubt, that the moment he asked for help, they would use it against his independence for the rest of his life. It would be proof in their eyes he should be watched over as if he were an invalid. He was the last to leave their home, not out of choice, but because his mother always used guilt to keep him under her care. The worst part was he knew it wasn’t done maliciously. They loved him but they didn’t accept him or respect him. They couldn’t wrap their minds around the idea he was as capable as his brothers of leading a normal life.
He’d gone to college in the US, for Phoenix’s sake. He’d received a degree in marketing and was co-owner of a tourist company. His best friend, Maggie, was American, and had decided to follow him to Mexico to build their business from the ground up. She was a small, feisty fox shifter who he adored and feared slightly.
Along the way he’d learned ASL as well as English, courtesy of Maggie, and knew how to read the lips of English speakers, again, because of Maggie. Why couldn’t they see his accomplishments as proof of his capabilities?
“I will see you later,” he signed to all of them before turning away.
Yaotl, his youngest brother, hurried after him and looped his arm through his. With a big grin, he said, “Say hi to Maggie for me.”
Diego chuckled and his coyote huffed with affection. Yaotl had a huge crush on Maggie but it would forever remain unrequited. Maggie was a lesbian.
“I will,” he signed. Of all his brothers, Yaotl was the only one to not draw attention to his deafness.
Yaotl left and hurried to his car while Diego got into his own. After a deep breath, he started the small compact and headed home.
Gregor hung up the phone and opened an encrypted email from his lord. He wished Arcas would have called him. He missed his lover’s voice. Arcas was moving around Europe and Asia, searching for other ingredients for the spell that would eradicate shifters once and for all. And after that, Arcas would ascend to godhood—a position he’d held thousands upon thousands of years ago during his first life. Gregor didn’t know all the details but what he did know fascinated and humbled him.
Arcas had once been a living god, one who’d tried to save the world from the murderous shifters. He’d failed, betrayed by a beloved sibling. And Merlin, the great enemy of his lord, had been there. The Master Shifter of All Shapes would pay for what he’d done to Arcas.
Gregor gritted his teeth as he used specialized software to decrypt the email. After learning a bit about Arcas’s past, it strengthened his loyalty and devotion, as well as his resolve never to fail. Arcas had been failed by people he trusted, through all his many lives. Gregor would not be one of them.
Focusing on the email, Gregor sucked in a breath. Through magic only Arcas was privy to, he learned the location of one of the blood types they needed for the eradication spell. Perhaps one of the rarest types, even more than the hybrids. A human without a single drop of fae blood.
It was a commonly held belief among shifters, and those in the know, that there’d been three tribes of intelligent beings in the Beginning. Shifters, fae, and hominids. The fae and hominids had mated to create what became, modern humans. But shifters were different beasts altogether. Their history was a bit hazier, and if Arcas knew anything, he was keeping it close. Gregor hungered for more information but he knew better than to aggravate his lord with too many questions. He’d learn what he needed to know in due course. Arcas had already brought him into his confidence with many secrets, and Gregor could trust he would continue to do so.
But now, as Gregor refocused on the email, he had a choice to make. He had knowledge of two needed blood types. That of a possible hybrid and the human without fae blood. He didn’t take long to deliberate. He needed some exercise and wouldn’t mind battling a beast. While he was talented with logistics, he’d been too long removed from the action on the ground. So he called up one of the few teams he had to spare—a talented threesome who worked as one unit, devoted to the cause.
Thanks to the Agency and their alliances with shifter clans, his trained knights were spread thin. While they had many chaotic recruits who did a good job distracting and harassing the Agency, the worthy knights were precious and only called upon when in dire need.
This counted.
The phone rang once before Stephen answered.
“Your orders, Commander.”
Gregor smiled. He had no doubts Stephen’s team would succeed with minimal attention thrown their way. “I’m sending you an encrypted email as we speak. I need you to locate and apprehend the target. Discreetly. We need his blood, Stephen. I leave it to your discretion if you kill him or set him loose. But if you deem him any kind of a threat to our cause, eliminate him. Again, discreetly.”
“Consider it done.”
“Excellent. Happy hunting.” Gregor hung up and finished packing. He had a short flight to Texas and then he would begin his own hunt—for a possible wolf hybrid named Raphael.
Chapter One
Jay took a sip of tequila and sighed happily. He’d arrived in Mexico City that morning and had already had a busy day. It had been too early to check into his hotel, and since he had one duffel, he’d taken a bus from the airport to the Centro Histórico—the historic center of Mexico city—and then hopped on the open-topped Turibus, despite the drizzle, to get a better idea of his options. Even with researching the city before he’d taken this trip, he’d still been blown away by the sheer size of the old buildings and the variety of architecture. The decadence of the Metropolitan Cathedral and the National Palace, to the blast from the past of the Templo Mayor, to the regular buildings that held shops and restaurants… it was a lot to take in.
