Breaking the Wheel

Chapter 18

Tenzin was waiting for her in the meditation hall. The moon was nearly new, only a sickle of white remaining, but the night was clear, the constellations picked out cleanly on the sky, as if they had been stitched there with silver thread. Had he come to apologise? Korra breathed in, forcing her thoughts into some semblance of order. Zaheer was right; Tenzin was still her friend, and it would be stupid to fall out just when they had Kuvira to deal with.

Gombo and his men had lit fires to ward off the wolfbats on one of the lower levels, but Korra could hear the big beasts, calling to each other as they hunted high above.

Tenzin turned and looked down at her, his grey-blue eyes soft. "I saw you talking with Zaheer."

Korra found a place on the edge next to him to stand, looking out over the mountain range. Smoke from the fires rose in indolent grey spirals, and she leaned back on the pillar beside her, folding her arms over her chest. Tenzin didn't look angry anymore, just tired. "He was helping me find my friends. I don't know if you know, but Asami and Mako were with me at the White Lotus prison." She paused. "And Varrick," she added.

"I know." Tenzin's eyes closed. "I'm sorry. When Kuvira took Republic City, she took Lin's family, too."

"Bolin?" Korra felt the dread rise in her stomach as Tenzin nodded an affirmative, and she felt slightly ridiculous as her eyes began to sting. It was all just too much. She held back her tears. The last thing she needed was for Tenzin to see her as a squalling child.

"I'm sorry," said Tenzin. "I couldn't do anything to stop her... They went to take out the superweapon without telling me-"

"No," Korra breathed. "Tenzin, I couldn't stop her. And I'm the Avatar."

"Korra," Tenzin reached out, resting a hand on her shoulder, and Korra resisted the urge to cry again as another wave of emotion rose through her. "You're only one person. No-one expected you to do this alone."

"If I'm only one person, then you're just the same. We need to work together to get through this. All of us."

"You're including Zaheer in that, aren't you," said Tenzin. "Have you forgotten what he did to you?"

Korra stared at him. "How-" she started, and shook her head. "How can you even think that? Of course I haven't forgotten! How could I forget?"

"Korra," said Tenzin. "I'm worried about you. I don't know what Zaheer said to you, but he's a dangerous man."

"Worried about me?" echoed Korra.

Tenzin nodded. "The Korra I knew would never consider using Zaheer as an ally like this. You need to be more cautious of him." He rubbed his forehead. "At least he's incapacitated now. I'll contact the White Lotus when we get to the Eastern Air Temple. They'll send a team to pick him up." And send him back to prison. That was what he meant, though he didn't say it. Korra remembered her own words; the deepest pit the Lotus could dig for him.

"No!" Korra said, feeling her fists clench. "You never listen to me, do you? I need his help."

"With what?" Tenzin frowned at her. "How can he help you in any way that the new air nation can't? Together, the White Lotus and the new air nation kept the world together while you were healing."

Korra's anger rose, unbidden. "And you and the Lotus have been doing a great job while I've been gone, haven't you? Where was the White Lotus when Kuvira was bullying the states into serving her? Huh? You knew what was going on. Where was the Air Nation?"

"Listen to yourself, Korra," said Tenzin, his grey-blue eyes fixing on her. "You're starting to sound like Zaheer."

Korra slammed a fist into the pillar beside her, and the stone cracked beneath her knuckles with a satisfying crunch. She scowled at Tenzin, who looked around a little nervously as they were showered with rock dust. "Stop dodging my questions!"