Free Phoenix Rising by Heather R. Blair

had told her, you only get one chance at sharing a soul, but that once was enough if it was the right soul.
    Miles had liked those words. And the other tidbits Kesley had shared.
    Later, of course, he had wondered if it all was a lie.
    Looking at this picture now, he thought what he had heard of Angelina Daeger was probably true. She looked like a dreamer and a dabbler and someone who had seen both great sadness and great joy. There was a depth of beauty and pain in those wild honey eyes so like her daughters’.
    “Do you get to see her often then?” Indiana was close to Chicago, was it not?
    Kelsey was almost asleep, but she stirred at his question. “No… not anymore.” Sleep slurred her final words into a faint whisper. “Mom…. She’s …been dead a long time now, Miles.”
    He frowned and put the picture back in its spot carefully, feeling lost without knowing why. “I’m very sorry, Kels.”
    Only a deep steady breathing answered him.
    He stayed and watched her sleep for far too long; leaning back against her ruined desk, his long legs crossed, his head bowed. Only his eyes moved, tracing her features over and over for the better part of an hour, his mind utterly blank. Finally, Miles forced himself to straighten and leave Kelsey’s office. He wanted to say he didn’t look back.
    But Miles didn’t lie, not even to himself.

Chapter 7
     
    'Change is certain. Peace is followed by disturbances; departure of evil men by their return........'~P. Shelley
     
    Two weeks later, Kelsey found herself back in Paris.
    She had gone through customs in a daze, Jules at her elbow every step of the way.  Sammy frowning at her white and drawn face. She hadn’t wanted to come, hadn’t cared to see Miles face to face ever again, but there had been no choice.
    There had been another murder, again in France, though this time in Auvergne. She still suspected Reegan and Jules agreed but they had no proof. Because even though she was quite familiar with her old handler’s essence, she hadn’t been able to get a trace of him anywhere.
    Kelsey used psychic residue, or what she had always labeled ‘essence’ to track someone. The imprint people left on the world, good or bad, determined the depth of essence they left behind. Distance could be a mitigating factor, but not much of one. And no matter how far away Reegan might be, she should have been able to catch something with him murdering shades left and right. Murder left such a vast dark imprint it should have been like tracking a bloody trail through the snow.
    Instead, they had nothing.
    They were headed to Miles' estate now, then on to the murder site, hoping proximity would kick something loose. Kelsey was fighting off memories left and right, trying not to let Jules see her hands shake as she went over the photos of the murdered vamps yet again as he turned on to Pont Neuf. He had insisted on driving and she didn't trust her nerves enough to argue with him.
    Coming back here was bothering her even more than she'd expected it to.
    She'd definitely expected it to. The hazy blue skyline of the city, the voices raised in melodious French, the delicious smells of the boulangerie , the silky feel of the very air .
    It brought her back to her time working for the Cleaners and betraying Miles all too clearly. She shook her head, the sleek swing of her dark hair momentarily hiding the sluggish Seine from her eyes.
    The past was past, for God's sake. Miles had told her that in no uncertain terms. Get over it, Kels, she berated herself as they started slowly over the ancient bridge.
    "What the hell are you doing, J?!" Sammy's voice from the back seat raised in uncharacteristic alarm as Kelsey felt the little car slide suddenly, sickeningly to the right.
    Jules' voice was strained as he fought the wheel with his big dark hands. "I don’t know. Kelsey ...what the fuck?”
    Kelsey's shocked gaze tracked the sway of the cars ahead of them, swinging like beads on a wide gray ribbon.