Page 7 of Competing Against Thor

My curiosity got the better of me and I took it from him, my fingers accidentally brushing against his as I did. My pulse raced at the touch, but I did my best to dismiss it.

"You called your hammerMjölnir?" I asked, running my fingers over the runes proclaiming it.

"I'm impressed you know that."

"Don't you think that's a bit of a risk? There are gods here." I had to admit that the runes were beautifully carved, and whoever had made the hammer was very talented.

"There are."

"Aren't you worried that they're going to think badly of you for using Thor's name?"

Amusement danced over his face in response. "Not really, no."

"Then you're an idiot."

He shrugged. "Or I am Thor. Can't really get into trouble for using my own name."

I stared at him for a moment, trying to work out if he was telling me the truth, or if this was some elaborate way of him trying to get under my skin. "No. Sorry. Not buying it. Your hammer should be much bigger if you're trying to pretend to be Thor."

"If you drop it, I'll show you that too."

I frowned, but figured there was nothing to lose from humouring him. I let the hammer slip from my grasp. It didn't even hit the floor and headed straight back into Thor's hand.

Without even waiting for me to say anything, he did something that made it grow right in front of my eyes, becoming as large as a war hammer, with intricate carvings along the head. I stared at it in shock.

He let it shrink again and leaned back against the pillar beside him. "Believe me now?"

I opened my mouth to say something, but realised I had no idea what I could possibly say in response. Inwardly, I rebelled against the idea that the man in front of me was a literal god. He was so normal. Or as normal as a skilled metal worker could be."You're Thor." As much as I wanted to deny the possibility, it was starting to seem more possible.

"Last I checked."

"All right, so say I believe youareThor..."

"I am."

"Okay, well, say I believe it. What are you doing entering a reality TV show? Couldn't you just go to the head of Jinx and ask for a piece to be put in their lobby?"

"I could," he agreed. "But there's no satisfaction there. They'd be putting it there because of who I am, not because of what I can do, and I don't want that. They're judging this competition blind, and there are a lot of talented people here. If I win this, then I'll be able to know for sure that I've won. If that makes sense."

"I guess it does."

"Why did you enter?" he asked.

"Because getting a sculpture in the lobby of Jinx would get my work in front of a lot of potential clients, and I need that if I want to continue working as an artist." My voice cracked as I said it. I'd wanted to be an artist for as long as I could remember, but now I was here, I realised that I wanted it even more than I'd first thought.

"You'll have so many commissions that you'll barely keep up once that happens," he said.

It took a moment for the way he'd phrased it to register. He'd said that he liked my sculptures, but this was a step beyond that. And I wasn't really sure what to do with that. "Would you show me that technique?" I asked. "I can show you mine with the flowers, if you want?"

He smiled. "Sure. I'm not sure I'll be able to pull it off the same way you can, but I'd love to see it in action."

"I think you might surprise yourself," I responded, heading into his station and trying not to think about how foolish thiswas. I shouldn't be getting to know any of my competitors, especially not one who claimed to be a god. Though I realised as I thought it that I'd decided he was probably telling the truth.

The problem with that was that now I somehow had to beat Thor at this competitiondespitethe fact he was a god, and that seemed virtually impossible.

Chapter 5

THOR