Fixation by Inara LaVey

her to use her powers. How to shift form. How to dreamwalk, to control both dream and dreamer. I should not have done so.”
    I had to ask. “Did you ... do you love her?”
    Balam’s smile was crooked. “I wanted her,” he said. “And I let my desire cloud my judgment. Anani was ... is ... the embodiment of all that is sensual and desirable.”
    “Of course she is,” I muttered, feeling as far from sensual or desirable as it was possible to feel. “So what was the problem?”
    “She wants to steal the power of the sun from Evaki, put the world into endless night and control all of mankind through its dreams.”
    I couldn’t help it. I laughed. “Oh, is that all?”
    He gave me a look, but I was unapologetic.
    “I’m sorry, but you have to admit it’s a bit over the top,” I said.
    “Be that as it may, it is the truth.” He folded his arms across his chest, as close to sullen as I’d seen him ... and one of the few males I knew who could carry off a sulk and still be sexy.
    I held up a conciliatory hand. “Sorry. I joke when I’m nervous.”
    “Do I make you nervous, Maya?” He smiled and his eyes took on that golden glimmer, as if lit from within by gold dust.
    “You know you do,” I said irritably as an unwanted wave of heat flushed through me. “But not as much as the thought of the world cast into endless night with some psycho-bitch stalking everyone in their dreams. And just how does she plan on doing this, anyway?”
    “By taking the power of the rest of Evaki’s shamans. She has been slowly ensorcelling us one by one, trapping us in our totem animal forms and stealing our totems.” He held up the little figurine I’d found in his—Nagual’s crate. “She somehow missed mine.”
    “How did it end up in your crate?”
    “One of my apprentices must have slipped it in there before Anani had me shipped out of the country. I only hope Anani does not know who did it. She will not deal with them gently.”
    “How...” I wasn’t sure how to phrase this, so I just went with blunt. “How did she trap all of you?”
    Now he really looked uncomfortable. “Sex magic.”
    “ All of you?”
    “I thought I was the only one she slept with.” He paused. “As it turns out, I was just her favorite.”
    There so many responses that would mix snark with sympathy that I chose to keep my mouth shut. Mortification was coming off him in waves. I didn’t need to add to it.
    “She asked me to join her.”
    “Come to the dark side, Luke,” I muttered. Typical supervillain.
    “I refused and thought that was the end of it. She said she was not serious. I believed her.” He shook his head. “My ego stopped me from seeing how much darkness had taken root in Anani’s soul.”
    Thinking with the little head instead of the big one , I thought. But again I managed to keep my mouth shut. Nothing short of miraculous.
    “By the time I realized just how far gone she was, I was the last of our circle of shamans left to oppose her. The rest ...” He shook his head. “Their spirits are trapped in the spirit realm while their bodies roam the jungles in their animal guise, unable to return to human form without their totem stones. I am not strong enough on my own.”
    This did not sound good.
    “So basically you’re saying this crazy bitch is going to win?”
    “Not if I can help it.” Balam’s mouth set in a grim line, the expression at odds with the sensuality of his lips. “If I can retrieve the totems and free my shamans, we can stand against her.”
    “But that means going back to Belize and facing her alone first, right?”
    He nodded.
    “If she trapped you once, what’s to prevent her from doing it again, especially if she has the stolen power of the other shamans?”
    “She took me by surprise before. She will not do so again.”
    I looked at him. Really?
    “That’s still no guarantee she won’t catch you trying to steal the totems and zap you back into Nagual or just kill you this