A Flawed Alliance

Chapter 16- Uncle Winston

Ace finished his story, starting with the night with Aaron and Mr. Hrodvitnir, then ending the story with identical expressions of the man. The man gasped, "You say they're the Phoenix Auxiliaries? There's two of them? Wait, isn't-he's not-"

Ace interrupted so fast, the man dropped his spoon on a clean cloth, "Don't make a mistake, Winston."

The man's- Winston's- eyes flitted nervously past Logan than at me. His eyes stayed on me but it wasn't a look of hatred but rather a look of sympathy, the same way he looked at Ace when he first saw him. A smile spread across his face, but just briefly before looking back at Ace.

"Ace, what about your-" the man began but Ace stopped him once again, "I have nothing to do with her. Please just fill us in about what you know about Phoenix Auxiliaries."

"Who is this man to you anyways?" I asked aloud.

The man chuckled. "I'm Ace's uncle, Winston."

No wonder the eyes were identical. Then, I remembered the photo back at Center Assemblage, where Ace and another man were in front of an oriental garden and a gorgeous sunset. The other man that was smiling next to Ace was Uncle Winston.

"Don't you know something?" Ace asked Winston. "Don't you remember from your husband's books?"

"Henry?"

Ace's mouth tightened. "Didn't you say he had books on phoenixes?"

"I'm sure there is more relevant information from the media or television," Winston replied.

"Not many know about phoenixes," Ace said. "It's dangerous. The books are the only official source."

"I don't think I still have them," Winston replied, looking away. A flash of hurt crossed his face. Whoever Henry was had left Winston feeling very hollow. "Henry threw them out a while ago, but I remember from them that without phoenixes, the land would grow cold and we would die without the heat."

"That's what Aaron said," I mentioned. "So is that the phoenix's power that everyone wants?"

The man looked at me expectantly and considered his answer carefully before responding, "Aaron. He did well for Malanthe, then. And no, a person is not mentally or physically capable to have a strong enough Phluid to have complete control over how much they can change the land's temperature."

"Then, what else could Phoenix Hunters want from a phoenix and their Auxiliary?" I asked.

He continued as if he didn't hear me, "People used to believe that inferno dragons once had the job of giving a source of heat to the humans and animals. Inferno dragons were extremely hard to connect with, probably the hardest animal. Anyone who got them during The Evaluation usually end up dropping out of training and go without an animal. Iona pushed the propaganda that Inferno Dragon Auxiliaries would bring the most progress."

"But animals and Auxiliaries don't just choose which powers they get. Unless someone passes on their powers over to you and is added to your existing one."

"Of course not," Winston agreed. "But no one knew since the land's temperature rarely changed. There was no clear evidence which animal could control it."

"Inferno Dragon Auxiliaries believed it was them that should have the powers. Phoenix Auxiliaries believed it was them, since heat could come from the phoenix, not dragons."

"Why do they want to take over the role of whose light source manager?" Logan asked.

"It would be nice if they had the power to turn on and off the sun, but nobody's Phluid is so powerful that it would surpass a human's limits. Phoenixes do have the power of the sun, but with heavy limits. They might be able to move a temperature one degree up or down, but that's about it."