Title: Power Play
Rating: R
Fandom: Criminal Minds
Universe: Creatures of the Night (Part 1)
Pairing: Morgan/Prentiss; JJ/Hotch
Genre: Supernatural/Drama
Summary: Tensions are running high when a vampire joins the BAU, but all differences must be put aside as the team investigate a series of suspicious werewolf murders. AU.
Author's Notes: Betaed by Windy City Dreamer.

Chapter Fourteen

It feels different, being here when it's this dark. Usually, in this place, by this time of night, he's covered in fur, and roaming as far as the confined space will allow him. In that form, he sees the world very differently. Smell and hearing are the most acute of a 'wolf's senses, their potency multiplied when in animal form. If not for Emily's presence, and for the fact that he would lose a lot of his cognitive functioning, he would have shifted right then and there.

He's stuck with the limitations, though. Instead of claws, he has a Glock 19 strapped to his waist. Had he known that he isn't going to be alone tonight, he might have packed something a little heavier. There isn't much room for a full arsenal on the bike – one of the main reasons he had taken a Bureau vehicle when visiting the scene earlier in the day. There's some stuff in the saddle-bag, but going back now will only exacerbate the mistrust in the air. He's not sure why he suddenly cares so much.

Thankfully, though, the Glock is loaded with bullets that will, at the very least, slow down all manner of creatures, providing he can make the shot.

'It's nice,' Emily comments, after they've walked a short distance. 'A slice of nature in amongst all the hustle and bustle.' The small talk is forced, and they both know it, but it doesn't mean she's wrong. The juxtaposition of sky and trees would be beautiful if it didn't have such negative connotations. This is the place where he spends his least favorite time of the month. The place where control is out of his grasp. That's another reason why he'd prefer not to shift.

It looks different in this light, and yet it's still the same.

Emily, too, looks different in this light. Powerful. Almost ethereal. She's in her element, he realizes, and if she suddenly decides she wants to kill him, he's going to have a hell of a fight on his hands.

'It has its moments,' he answers, which isn't really an answer, but it's all he's going to give her.

The closer they get to the primary crime scene, the stronger the scent of death becomes. It's more potent now that there's just the two of them. No other scents to confound the olfactory receptors. It will stick around for a few more days, at least. Not as long as the memory, but still long enough.

Emily puts her fingers to the grass. 'There's residual magic. Probably from the crime scene techs.'

Morgan raises an eyebrow. 'I thought vampires hated using magic.'

She snorts inelegantly. 'Most of them do,' she says. 'A vampire's power lies in taking something – blood, for instance – from others. While magic uses a lot of catalysts to focus and adjust the energy, ultimately, the power comes from the wielder. Most clans find it easier to use human sorcerers. Always about the power.'

Morgan nods, though he knows most of this already. While it hadn't been a topic of discussion in his law degree, he's been with the unit long enough to pick up a few things. Hanging around Reid all day doesn't hurt either. Emily's exposition doesn't explain why she seems comfortable with the concept of magic.

'My father dabbled a bit,' she shrugs in response to his unanswered question. 'I can do a few basic things, but not much, really.'

Morgan shrugs his jacket off, and rolls up the sleeve of his shirt, revealing the spell bands that encircle his upper arm.

I'll show you mine if you show me yours.

She smirks, but it's an expression that hides a much deeper emotion. Relief? Her eyes – dark brown, even in the strong moonlight – focus on the marks against his skin.

'Magic circle against evil?' she asks, her lip twitching.

He gives her a surprised grin. 'Protection and strength. Just shields. Haven't had the training to work the real spells.'

She gives him a grateful smile, at which point he realizes that they've started to kindle the fires of trust. It's not much – the magic isn't hidden, by any means – but it's something.

Morgan lets his senses roam, nostrils seeking out something beyond the smell of death. It's not long before he finds something.

'Fear.'

'What?' Emily asks, brow furrowing slightly.

'I can smell the fear. It's faint, but…'

She closes her eyes, trying to find that scent. Her main senses aren't as strong as his, but they're still strong when compared to any other creature. Plus, he can't tell someone how fast their heart is beating.

'There's something else,' she says, not yet opening her eyes. 'I can't…there's magic blocking it, but it's there, trying to get out.'

For a moment, Morgan wonders why she senses what he can't, before he realizes that she isn't noticing the scent, but the magic that's blocking it. He remembers Rossi had felt the same thing; they'll get the crime scene analysis eventually.

'We knew that already,' he says. 'This morning, with Rossi-'

'No,' she cuts him off. 'This is new.'

And then he smells it. It's encompassed by the fear, but it's growing stronger. The magic that's trying to contain it isn't quite enough.

He turns, just in time to see the man standing just feet away from them. Vampire. Not powerful, by any means – he still has vestiges of human in him. Short, sandy hair. Sunken eyes. Half a dozen spell bands tattooed down the length of his left arm.

But that's not what Morgan's paying attention to.

He's looking at the silver knife in the vamp's right hand.