Spark [Prince Zuko - Book One]

❃Chapter Fifteen❃

Asake thrashed against the man holding her, trying to get away from whoever was holding her captive. Every fiber of her being told her that she needed to get away from this man. The gut feeling in her stomach was telling her that something was going to happen, and it wouldn't be good at all.  No, it would be terrible. This was the same gut feeling she had when she got burned when Zuko was waiting for his opponent for the fated Agni Kai. 

Roku's temple was becoming smaller and smaller as the man dragged her down the hill. With a quick glance behind her, she realized that he was bringing her to one of the many ships that was docked at the base of the island. The small ship her and Zuko had taken was hidden away in a small cove on the opposite side of the island, so she doubted that whoever had her knew about it. That would mean that Zuko could get away easily. She hoped he would.

"There's no need for you to struggle, missy," a gruff voice said in her ear. He didn't sound evil like Zhao or Fire Lord Ozai did, but his voice still sent a shiver down her back. "I've been told not to hurt one hair on your pretty little head. However, if you do try to get away, I think he'd understand if you had a few broken bones."

Asake went still in the man's arms and took a deep breath. Like he said, there was no point in her struggling. He was way too strong for her to even try anything. No matter how much she hated that, she knew she couldn't do anything to get away. Unless she distracted him. That could work well. "Who are you? Who do you work for?"

"I think you know who I work for."

"Zhao?"

"You're smarter than what you look like," the man said, laughing. The gravelly sound made Asake cringe. "My name is Zasai." Asake's blood turned cold. She knew that name. According to her father, there was a legend of a man named Zasai. He was a serial killer in the Fire Nation who only targeted young women, like Asake. But that was so many years prior so this man right here could not have been the real Zasai. "I see that you have heard of the legend associated with my name."

"Yes, I have," Asake said quietly. "I don't know if you're the real Zasai or not, though. If you were, why would you be working for someone else?"

"I'm not the famed Zasai," he said. There was a hint of anger in his voice, like he hated being named that. "My parents were fans of his work and decided to name me that." He fell silent for a minute, allowing Asake to frown at the thought of people glorifying murderers. That didn't make sense to her at all. "You don't have to worry, I'm not a serial killer. I've never even killed anyone before."

"You parents wanted to name you after a serial killer?" she asked disgustedly.

"I know, I know, I had horrible parents," he said angrily. "But you don't need to act like that. I'm sure your parents were nothing better than mine if you're traveling with Prince Zuko."

"You're right about my dad," she said softly. "But, you're wrong about my mom. She died when I was just a baby."

"Oh, I'm not so sure about that, missy."

Asake's heart nearly stopped beating when she heard that. Of course her mother was dead. That's what her father told her. Her father told her that her mother died when she was a baby because her older brother ran away. She couldn't stand it that Zaram, her brother, ran away, and she died because of how intense the pain was. "You're wrong," she repeated. "You have no idea what you're talking about."

"Maybe I don't." He locked eyes with her, shocking her to the core. There was something in his eyes that scared her. "Maybe I do."

He kept his hands around her arms to make sure that she didn't run away, but his grip loosened up slightly. They were still far away from the ships when the man - Zasai - stopped walking suddenly. "What are you doing?" Asake asked him.