The new issue of A Thousand Faces, the quarterly journal of superhuman fiction, is out with my story “Volcano Girl.” You can read it online (for free), buy it in print, or download it to your Kindle or Nook. Here’s an excerpt from the beginning of the story:
VOLCANO GIRL
by R. Narvaez
There was laundry to do. An ingrown toenail pulsed under her left boot. And she had to call her mother. But more than anything Juniper Jiminez wanted to go home and have a bubble bath.
Instead, she waited for her arch-nemesis Aqua-Bella and her gang to emerge from the First National Bank. Juniper considered melting the windows to get the whole thing over with. But she was Volcano Girl. So she stayed where she was – fifteen feet above the ground, atop a column of fire.
“Hey, criminals,” said Volcano Girl. “Come on out with your hands up already.”
Aqua-Bella splashed through the doors, her cohorts close behind. She looked up. “I knew you’d be here!”
The Sister of Singe raised her hands to create a cage of flame. “Your MO is as transparent as your face. I . . . ”
Then: At first it felt like a migraine. It started in the middle of her forehead, then cleaved the back of her skull. Then the column of fire was gone.