Chapter 5

THOR

I stepped through the portal that led from Earth to the god realm and let out a satisfied sigh. There was something in the air here that was different, and it made me glad to be back home instead of back in my hotel room. And not just because my muscles were aching after a day in the studio. I was used to working hard, particularly in a forge or workshop, but it was something else to have to do it in a small, unfamiliar space.

And with someone so distracting nearby. I knew I shouldn't be paying any attention to Daisy Chains next to me, but it was impossible not to. She was so dedicated to her work, I could see it in every move she made towards the metal.

I pushed the thought aside. I couldn't let myself be distracted by a mortal. That was always a good way to get myself hurt.

A part of me just wanted to head home and crash in bed, but the rest of me needed to unwind, which was how I ended up heading into Kvasir's bar.

He nodded to me and started pouring me a cup of mead without me even asking.

"What is it this time?" I asked as he set it down in front of me.

"Cherry," he responded.

I raised an eyebrow. "It's no Mead of Poetry ."

"That was a one-time thing," Kvasir responded. "And it wasn't anything special. People just get talkative after they drink it, and if you ask the right questions, they sound like scholars."

"Disappointing," I admitted. "I much prefer the version where it turns anyone that drinks it into a wise scholar."

Kvasir snorted. "You know I died in that story, right? The Mead of Poetry was made from my blood."

I looked down at the cup in front of me. "Maybe I don't want cherry mead today."

He chuckled and went over to serve one of the others who had come into the bar.

I took my drink over to the corner and sat, nursing it and thinking back over my day. I was pleased with how my sculpture had turned out, but it definitely hadn't been the best of the ones created. There had been several others that I thought fit the theme of mythical creatures better. Hopefully, next week's challenge would be better for me.

I finished my mead, only for Kvasir to set a bottle down on my table without me asking for it. I smiled at him in thanks and refilled my cup. The cherry was good. Not his best, but I wouldn't know what that was until I tried them all, and whenever I thought I'd found it, he went and got a load more flavours. I was sure he did it on purpose to make sure I kept coming back.

The chair opposite me scraped back and I looked up to find Hel already sitting down. "Hello, Uncle." She gestured for the bottle of mead.

"I think we're too old to bother with that, don't you?"

She laughed. "Maybe. I'm not going around calling Loki daddy any more."

I grimaced. "Please never let me hear you say that again. You're the ruler of Hel, you shouldn't be calling anyone daddy ."

"That's what you think," she muttered under her breath.

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that for my sanity," I responded. "You're my niece."

She shrugged. "Didn't used to be a problem. Loads of people married their nieces."

"And they probably shouldn't have," I pointed out.

She must have decided that I was taking too long to hand her the bottle, and grabbed it herself, pouring a generous glug of mead into a cup. "I can't change history. And the afterlife takes care of itself," she said. "Which you well know."

"Someone has to rule it in name."

" Lots of people rule it in name. Do you have any idea how impossible it is to get things done when there are so many gods trying to do one job? And don't get me started on the whole Hades and Persephone drama, I am so over that." She downed her mead in one and refilled her cup, proving the truth of her words.

"What's happening with them?"

She stared at me. "You don't know? They broke up decades ago, and Hades has been sulking ever since. And trying to have a conversation with Persephone about anything other than Hades is impossible." She flicked her light blue hair over her shoulder. "Seriously, they talk about each other way too much considering they claim that they're no longer together. It's only a matter of time before they make the move."

"Interesting. So that's what I should expect if I see Persephone while she's judging? Everything is going to remind her of Hades?"

"Oh, your competition thing?" Hel asked.

"Yeah, The Great Sculpting Challenge . Persephone is supposed to be judging. Mel said something about convincing her with flowers." It was going to be hard for me to do well when that was the challenge. Even after Daisy showed me how she did it, I doubted I'd be able to pull off anything so delicate.

"More than likely. I still don't understand why you're doing it, you already have a load of gods exhibiting your work. Didn't Anansa buy one of your sculptures for her cruise ship?"

I nodded and took a sip of my mead. "I wanted a challenge. It's all very well creating by myself, but that doesn't push me to try new techniques or to take risks. That's why I'm doing the show."

"So not to win?"

"Not really. Winning would be good because it's judged blindly, so they don't know it's me, but it's mostly about pushing myself out of my comfort zone."

"I wasn't aware you had one of those."

"It's been a while since I've done something new," I responded. "Surely you feel like that sometimes?"

"Not really. But then, I can get my kicks by doing this to give people a spook." She waved a hand over her face, and it rippled to reveal the skull underneath, a basic skill that most necromancers had, but had become part of her legend.

"Does that really work?" I asked.

"Not as well as it used to," she admitted. "People just aren't as easy to scare."

"That's probably a good thing."

"Maybe. But more boring for me."

I shook my head, somewhat amused by her reasoning. But that was Hel. She'd been given a job that was kind of sucky, and she'd made the most of it. Just like the rest of us had.

"How's your competition going?" she asked.

I gave her a questioning look.

"I might not understand the reasons you're doing it, but I can still support you," she pointed out.

"As well as it can do. Some of the challenges suit me better than others, I'm still new when it comes to sculpting."

"New as in you started a decade ago," she responded.

"As did several of the other competitors," I pointed out. "And some of them even before that." I had no idea of the exact dates, but I had to imagine that a lot of them had been doing it longer than me. That was also part of the challenge.

"Huh, so you might not win."

"I doubt I will," I admitted. "There's this woman next to me, and her sculptures are amazing." I pulled out my phone and clicked through to the page I'd been looking at full of sculptures from Daisy Chains . I handed it to Hel.

She raised an eyebrow. "You just keep this open on your phone?"

"What? No. Well, I had it open earlier and then I got distracted, nothing weird."

"Sure." She scrolled through the photos. "They're beautiful," she conceded.

"They are. And you should see what she managed to create in just four hours the other day, the flowers were so delicate."

"No doubt I'll have to watch the show in order to do that?"

"Well, yes. I'm amazed I've been allowed to keep my phone on me, but I definitely can't show you any photos."

"Probably special treatment," she responded. "The Muses can't take your phone off you, you're a god. And a fairly important one."

I shrugged. "Hardly."

She handed me my phone back. "Looks like you've got some competition."

"I do." A smile sprang to my face as I thought about Daisy working. She was definitely competition, and I wouldn't be surprised if she did win. Though maybe I'd be saying that about anyone who was working in the station next to me, not just her.

"Well, I look forward to hearing how it goes," Hel said. "And maybe watching. I do love a good reality TV show. Though I prefer the ones with all the drama. Maybe I just need Jinx and the Muses to team up and do a dating show. That would be great."

I chuckled. "I'm not sure Aine would go for that, she's all about people actually finding love, not the drama."

"Oh, please. She's a love goddess, they live on drama," Hel countered.

"I've never had much to do with them," I admitted. "Other than the occasional party."

"Then maybe we should get you signed up for one of their events, then you'll believe me about the drama."

"There's a party coming up linked to the competition," I said. "Does that count?"

"It counts enough. Now how do I get an invite to make sure I get to witness all of the drama going down?"

I laughed. "You can be my plus one, if you want?"

"Won't that spoil your chances with the sculptor you're crushing on?"

"Why would it?" I asked without thinking. "You're my niece."

"Interesting. So you're not denying that you're crushing on her."

"I'm nearly two thousand years old, I don't get crushes."

The look of disbelief on her face said differently. "We all get crushes, Uncle. We're not immune just because we're immortal."

I frowned, not sure what to make of her assessment. I drank some more of my mead instead of thinking too hard about it. Whether or not she was right, there was certainly a part of me that was enraptured by Daisy, and I certainly wanted to get to know her more.