Sheryl Nantus - Wild Cards and Iron Horses

Sheryl Nantus was born in Montreal, Canada and grew up in Toronto, Canada. A rabid reader almost from birth, she attended Sheridan College in Oakville, graduating in 1984 with a diploma in Media Arts Writing.

During her fifteen years of working in private security, she was stationed at the United States Consulate in Toronto as well as many hospitals in the Greater Toronto Area. Needless to say, she saw a lot of interesting things and people from which she draws her characters and situations in her speculative fiction writing.

She met Martin Nantus through the online fanfiction community in 1993 and moved to the United States in 2000 in order to marry. A firm believer in the healing properties of peppermint and chai tea, she continues to write short stories, poetry and novels while searching for the perfect cuppa.

To learn more, please visit www.sherylnantus.com.

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Blaze of Glory

Saving the world is easy for a superherounless youre a fraud.

Blaze of Glory

2010 Sheryl Nantus

Jo Tanis is a superhero, fighting evil on the city streets, using her ability to feed off electromagnetic energy and fire off chargesand its all just a show. The Agency captures her and others like her when their powers begin to manifest, pitting them against each other in staged, gladiatorial fights. An explosive implant on the back of her neck assures shell keep right on smiling for the camera and beating up the bad guys.

When Earth comes under attack, suddenly the show becomes deadly real. Unable to deal with a real alien, the supers are falling in droves. Millions of innocent civilians are going to dieunless Jo can cobble together a team from among the fake heroes and villains the Agency enslaved. Including Hunter, who not only promises to show her how to deactivate the implants, but seems to know more than he should about how the mysterious Agency operates.

Forcing a rag-tag bunch of former enemies to work together is the least of Jos problems. The trick is determining if Hunter is friend or foeand becoming the hero everyone thought she was before the world is destroyed for real.

Warning: Contains superhero in-jokes, Canadiana and large alien craft shaped like avocados. Really.

Enjoy the following excerpt for Blaze of Glory:

When we arrived at the training facility we were given a choiceto be heroes or villains. My smile appeared, despite the mood. Couldnt pass up the chance to be a star.

Who would decide to be a villain? David pressed his lips together tightly as he helped himself to one of the sandwich triangles.

I shrugged. People with issues. People who didnt want to play nice. It was a whole psychological thing, I didnt ask. My hand went to the back of my neck, to the scar tissue. Long story made short, the Agency controlled us with this. Gave the power to our Guardians to blow our heads off if we started getting ornery or if we tried to run away.

Your Guardian? both Jessie and David asked at the same time.

Mike. A dull ache started in my chest as I spoke. He was my Guardian. Had a special wristband that could set this thing off.

But hes David paused, probably out of concern for my feelings.

Hes dead. The words sounded flat to my ears. I know. But the Agency can still activate it long-distance, which is why I need you to turn this damned thing off. The bastards thought of everythingwell, except for this, obviously.

Right. Jessie walked back to the computer. He rested his elbows on the desk, smirking. Weve got the GPS figured out. Jammer is on the way courtesy of a friend of mine. He threw me a saucy wink. Used to work in a chop shop. Until you find the chip to toss it out you have to jam it.

Dont tell me too much. I chuckled. And the plug itself?

His face went solemn. Well, thats another whole different ball of wax. Ive got some ideas, but let me check out some things before I present them to you. Dont have that many surgeons on my list, but Ive got the word out. Jessies voice dropped an octave. Do you think theyd really kill you?

Theyve already been popping heads today. I nodded towards David. I saw the news reports of heroes and villains dying without even getting into the fight. Thats not from the aliens, thats the Agency.

David frowned, biting down on his lower lip. Why would they do that?

Because no one wants to fight a battle youre going to lose. Even the villains arent that stupid. The mental image of Tan, lying there gasping his last breath, came to the forefront of my minds eye. They must have said no and their Guardians pulled it. You refuse to fight, you get your plug pulled. I waved a hand in the air. And dont get any ideas about us being patriotic or anything like that. Its one thing to go into a fixed battle and another to go to what looks like certain death. My throat felt tight. If I had known what was going on before we left, I might have tried to talk Mike out of it.

Then he would have killed you, Jessie growled.

Maybe. Guess Ill never know now. I closed my eyes, trying not to think about the hundreds of times I had run that scenario through my mind.

Thats murder, no matter how you explain it away, David said in a low, sad tone. Especially when this Agency is supposed to be helping us fight these aliens. Killing supers who wont fight is just He fell silent, unable to find the words.

Which is another whole problem. I gestured towards the laptop. Everyone thought that our arranged fights were real, right? I continued without waiting for the two men to respond. So what if someone or something monitoring our transmissions thought the same thing?

The redhead at the desk shrugged. Probably think that you were the hot stuff like we all did. He blushed, his attention on the computer screen.

So they figured that theyd take you on and win. David rocked back and forth on the couch. But then why stop?

I blinked. What?

Why stop? I mean, theyve retreated back into their ships and are just hovering there, waiting. He smacked his lips together. Not a wise move if you want to invade a planet. Take out the top defenders and start moving your ground troops in, get the boots on the ground. Instead theyre just sitting there. Not a very good military position to take.

Thank goodness for that much. Jessie hummed under his breath. There should be a parcel at the front door in a few minutes.

David got to his feet. Im assuming I dont need to sign for it.

Better if you dont. Jessie chuckled. Just bring it right up here and well kick it into gear.

I shifted my position on the thin cushions. Think this is going to work?

Of course. The smug tone in his voice had me laughing.

Thank your buddies for me. Getting to my feet, I stretched out my arms, shaking the sleep out of them. The snap, crackle and pop as I arched my back startled me, reminding me that I was off my routine.

Big time. Mike had always been keen on our daily exercises. Hed be pissed Id forsaken them for a nap.

Course wed never talked about keeping up a routine in the middle of an alien invasion.

Jessie stared at the screen, chewing on the inside of his mouth before speaking. You ever want to quit?

Every day, I whispered. Every fucking day.

The silence hung in the air between us, the sudden tightening in my chest reminding me that I had a lot to make up for.

Its here. Davids excited voice reverberated up the stairs. Jessie smiled as I walked to the steps and reached down to help the elderly man up.

You should tell your friends to have better manners. He wagged a finger at Jessie before tossing him the small box wrapped in plain brown paper. Bike messenger drove up and threw it at me. Left without even saying a word. He sat on the couch.