Rachel walked across the glass gangway that led from Tower Four to level 142 of the White Spear. When she reached the other side, she turned around and looked back across the gap between the buildings. She hadn't looked down this time, but the gangway still looked fragile to her eyes. Maybe it was meant to be that way. Shaking her head, she made her way into the White Spear's perimeter corridor and rested one hand against the curved glass outer wall.
Willow had seemed so forlorn when she had left him. She wondered whether she had been too hard on him. He had pushed her and she had pushed back in return, but maybe he was just trying to help after all. The look in his eyes had left her with more doubts than ever.
Too many thoughts buzzed around inside her head. She was finding it hard to breath. Why was the air so stale? The tower's air control systems should have regulated the oxygen levels by now. Maybe there was something wrong with them? The towers had ventilation slits built into their outer glass walls. They were normally kept closed for security reasons. The air that entered the crew areas had to be strictly controlled. Rachel reached her hand towards the nearest ventilation slit and used her wrist console to provide her credentials. When the vent opened, she leant closer, allowing the fresh cool breeze to caress her face while she breathed deeply, filling her lungs.
She could see Tower Four through the thick glass outer wall. Its black glass windows formed concentric circles around the tower's armoured trunk. It was whole again, just as it should be. When she had stood in Wolfhammer Hall she had seen it falling apart. She had seen the tower rocked by explosions and engulfed in a ball of flames. Her mind still struggled to understand the implications. It had felt so real at the time. Her skin had burnt and the floor had shaken beneath her feet. But Tower Four stood in front of her now. She knew that it couldn't be true. Her mind had played tricks with her once again. How could she find the truth when her own senses had led her so far astray? Maybe she had gone as far as she could, chasing her own thoughts. Maybe she needed to talk to someone else. There had to be someone who could help her understand what was happening to her.
She knew that she could talk to Alice. Alice was her friend, and she was also pragmatic. She was good with the satellite systems, and she had an intelligent mind, but Rachel would never be able to share her deeper experiences with her. Alice would want to help, and she would try her best, but their experiences of life were simply too different. It would be a step too far from her ordered, logical world. She would be sure to think that Rachel had lost her mind.
General Markov was a different type of person. He would listen to her, but he already thought that she was causing trouble. She had already seen that look in his eyes too many times. He wanted to support his latest commander, but he had bigger problems on his mind. If she told him what she had experienced in Wolfhammer Hall he would think that there was something wrong with her. He might assume that she was still suffering from her previous injuries. Maybe he would ask her to take time off duty, or send her for a medical examination. Neither prospect felt very appealing. Rachel didn't want to take time away from her duties. Spending more time alone at home would only make her worry even more. She didn't know what was wrong with her, but she knew somehow that the answers to her questions lay within the White Spear. The towers might be the cause of her problems, but they could also be the source of her solutions too. She felt as though, if she could only think clearly, she would find the answers close at hand.
Lord Hades might be the only person that could truly understand her problems, but what price would he ask in return? Rachel's mother had always warned her to stay away from the lords. It would be a mistake to let Lord Hades get inside her mind. She didn't trust him. She didn't trust any of his kind. Lord Goran had shown the true nature of the lords.
Since Nick had died, Rachel had realised just how much she needed him. Despite their differences, he had been the only one that really understood her. He had been the only one that she could trust. Without him, she felt completely alone.
Henry Willow, a voice said in the back of her mind. Had it been her own thought? Willow wanted to help. Perhaps she should talk to him after all.