Fixation Read Free Page B

for one more look at Nagual, who was still pacing back and forth the length of the cage. Everyone else had left for the time being, leaving Nagual alone to get used to his new surroundings.
    “Hello, you beauty,” I said softly.
    At the sound of my voice Nagual stopped mid-stride, wheeled around, and stared at me with such intensity that I almost took a step backwards.
    “O-kay, fella...” My voice sounded just a little shaky. “This is really kind of weird, you know?”
    Nagual grunted.
    “I just wanted to say goodnight.”
    Immediately Nagual jumped up on his hindquarters, front paws slamming against the steel mesh of the enclosure. This time I did stumble backwards, nearly falling on my butt as I backed into the low cement wall lining the walkway around the quarantine. I managed to regain my balance, but scraped the palm of one hand on the wall.
    Nagual never took his eyes off me during all of this, watching as I shook my scraped hand and blew on it in an attempt to dull the sting of the abrasion. “This is your fault, you know,” I told him. “You startled me.”
    He gave another grunt and rubbed his cheek against the mesh, marking territory with his scent glands.
    I took a step towards him, very slowly, to see what he’d do. He continued rubbing his check on the wire mesh, not bothered in the least by my proximity, which in itself was unusual especially given the extreme upheaval to his life in the last forty-eight hours.
    “You really are an odd one, aren’t you?”
    He stopped rubbing and resumed pacing. I shook my head, bemused.
    I took another step, holding my uninjured hand palm first up a few inches away from the mesh. He immediately stopped pacing and pressed his nose against the wire. I very slowly held my hand closer so that he could smell it. Immediately a rough jaguar tongue licked my flesh.
    I stood frozen, amazed and honored that this gorgeous animal would show me this kind of affection right off the bat. I didn’t remember him as being hand-raised, but maybe I was wrong. That was the only explanation I could come up with for this instant love-fest.
    Reluctantly I took my hand away and stepped back. I needed to get home. “I’ll see you next week, okay?”
    As I walked away, bellowing coughs filled the twilight as Nagual called out, although whether for me or for his lost home there was no way of telling. The sound of his loss followed me all the way to the parking lot, into my truck and down the winding dirt road that led out of the compound to Highway 1 and home.

Chapter Three
    I managed to stay awake for the drive home by stopping at a little market in Half Moon Bay for a much-needed cup of coffee before navigating the Devil’s Slide, a tricky bit of coastal highway known for rockslides after heavy rains. Agnes hugged the rocky cliff to my right as I did my best not to think about the sharp, steep, and potentially deadly drop-off to the Pacific Ocean on the other side of the road. The thought of plunging off into space made the back of my legs crawl. Heights are definitely not my friend. Still, I preferred this route to 17, the narrow two-lane artery that went in and out of Santa Cruz from the Peninsula. Too crowded with lots of lousy and overly aggressive drivers.
    Once past the Devil’s Slide—I love that name—the hairpin turns mellowed out and the road went inland into woods before emerging south near Rockaway Beach and Pacifica. Pacifica was just a short ten minutes from San Francisco proper and soon I left 1 for Skyline Boulevard. This took me by the San Francisco Zoo by way of the Great Highway, which ran the length of Ocean Beach. It was too dark to appreciate the view of the Pacific Ocean, along with other SF landmarks such as the Cliff House and Sutro Baths. Funny how I ignored them during the day, but noticed their absence when I couldn’t see them. I’m sure there was a life lesson in there somewhere, but I was too tired to appreciate it as I followed curve of Great