Claimed by Twelve

25. Army

I immediately noticed the smell of pancakes when I stepped into the living room. My hand strayed to my bow as I surveyed the mess in front of me.
      Pax was standing at the small island in the kitchen, staring intently at a pancake on the griddle. Behind him, a pan on the stove shook as its contents cooked, the timer went off as smoke started to come from the oven. I sighed as I let my hand drop from my bow. I made my way toward the chaos.
      I shut the timer off and opened the oven door. I covered my mouth and noses as I pulled out the pan. Bacon sizzled as I set the pan on an unused part of the countertop. I glanced at Pax briefly, to see him trying to flip a rather large pancake. I turned my attention back to the pan on the stove. I took the cover off and grabbed the spatula that was nearby. I quickly mixed the eggs as the pan stopped shaking. How in the world had Pax expected to do all this alone?
After a few minutes, I pulled the pan off the stove and set it on the counter next to the bacon. Pax turned off the griddle as he looked at me. "Thanks."
I raised my eye brow in question. "You just thought you'd take on breakfast alone?"
Pax shrugged. "Hey. I took a cooking class once."
I turned away to hide my smile. "Once."
      I heard Pax's chuckle as he split the food between two plates. He handed me both and then grabbed two glasses full of orange juice.
      I followed him to the table. After we had both eaten, Pax took the dishes and put them in the sink. I looked at him in question.
"Training." Pax opened the door. He followed me into the hallway. "You've got to learn sometime." Pax walked down the hall and I followed.
      I swallowed. Training. I was actually going to learn something. I cleared my throat. "So...you're a demigod. What...." I tried to break the awkward silence.
      Ahead of me, I could have sworn Pax rolled his eyes. "Hades."
      "Greek?" I was a little surprised.
      "Yup." Pax pushed open a door and gestured for me to go inside. I stepped through the doorway. And froze.
      In front of me, hundreds of demigods were sparring. Swords clashed and bowstrings twanged. Pax appeared at my side. There was no smile on his face. "Khione. She gathered them. For you."
      "For....me?" I gawked.
      "Yes." A flash of anger crossed Pax's face, though he did his best to hide it. "For you. This is part of your army."
      "I..." I stuttered. My army?! I hesitated. Pax didn't like this. Why? "I'm suppose to lead them?"
      "Yes. You're suppose to lead them. To bring down Olympus." Pax's voice caught in his throat. He definitely didn't like this. But he was on Khione's side! Then again, so was I.
      A blast of icy air made its way through the room. Khione's voice boomed over it. "That's enough for today! You are free to go!" The hundreds of demigods in the room all dropped their weapons and turned toward the door. Some gave me strange looks as they past, some smiled, and some frowned. Once they were all gone, Pax dragged me to the middle of the room.
      Pax handed me a wooden sword. "First lesson." When I looked at Pax I saw that his eyes were no longer friendly. "Don't let them hit you." Pax swung his sword at me. I yelped and blocked his swing. It was all I could do to not the the sword be knocked out of my hands. This was going to be a long day.