Dragon At Heart

Chapter 32

32. Best Laid Plans of Spirits and Men

Nakki was just as tall and intimidating as Zuko had remembered. Moonlight reflected off of his semi-translucent skin, somehow creating the illusion of being under water. This time, Nakki's long, black dreadlocks were tied loosely behind his head, and the spirit was wearing dark blue trousers and a matching tunic, both of which looked far too thin to be worn in these temperatures. No shoes.

Nakki smiled curiously, but was obviously waiting for Zuko to say something first. The Prince decided to cut to the chase: "What do you want from me?"

"What makes you think I want anything from you?" Nakki asked, frowning in thought. He sounded serious, but was probably just stalling to annoy Zuko. If the spirit decided to argue over every phrasing, they would be here all night. Somehow, though, unlike with Tuli, Zuko had a distinct impression that Nakki was stalling on purpose; to test him, rather than because he didn't understand Zuko's strange, human ways.

Instead of getting annoyed, Zuko decided to respond with logic. Outarguing spirits tended to work better than shouting at them. "When we met for the first time, you said the Avatar was a bore, and that I am much more interesting. You also said we would meet again. So, it is logical to presume it's me you have followed all the way here, which means you definitely wantsomething from me."

On that moment, Zuko figured out something else that had been bothering him tonight. "Earlier today, when I recognized you... You let me catch you on purpose, didn't you? You arranged the whole scene to lure me into this meeting. You weren't really afraid of being found out, but only pretended to be, to make me think I knew something you valued, so that I would think I held power over you. You have gone through a lot of trouble to bring me here, and here I am. Now what?"

Nakki's eyes widened a fraction. When he spoke, Zuko thought he could hear a hint of appreciation in his tone: "You are more clever than I gave you credit for. And yet, here you are. I dare say, you and I will get along just fine."

Zuko wasn't sure if Nakki was being ironical or if he should be offended, but eventually he decided the spirit appeared to be serious. Zuko sighed. "I've had a lot of practice, growing up with a sister whose greatest delight was playing games at other people's expense. The sort of games she would always win. You sort of remind me of her. But now, get to the point. Why are we here, really?"

Unspoken between them, but understood by both, were the words: You tricked me here, without me knowing the first thing about why. Should I be worried?

Nakki smiled encouragingly. "Believe what you may, but I wasn't kidding when I asked you to come here to hear a tale I have to tell. Should you decide to believe my story, then we might be able to work together in the future to further our common interests."

"So you're here to tell me a story?" Zuko asked, finding the phrasing less than promising. "But not the truth?"

"Only people who believe blindly are arrogant enough to think they know the truth. I'm certainly not one of them, but, if the matter bothers you so, I can promise to tell you the story as truthfully as I am able. I should warn you, though, quite a bit of it is based on hearsay and speculation, so I cannot guarantee it is all true. Would that be acceptable to you?"

Zuko considered. He had come this far, so it would be ridiculous to turn back without hearing Nakki out, but, on the other hand, the Prince had a feeling Nakki's tale would serve some other purpose than just informing him of... things. Once already Zuko had agreed to an exchange of favors with a spirit without considering the consequences, and, although he did not regret the deal he had made with Tuli, he would also be a fool to fall into the same trap twice. "Couldn't you just tell me Zhao's secret, and be done with it?"