<node-id> doesn't return the node id

I am trying to create a custom Comments link but can't get <node-id> to display. It seems to be one of the options in the settings['tag'] array. The link I am using is http://mydomain.com/comment/reply/<node-id>#comment-form but the link becomes http://mydomain.com/comment/reply/#comment-form. Shouldn't <node-id> return the node id number?