** Disclaimer!: I do not own Criminal Minds, I make no money off of Criminal Minds. Hope you enjoy**
Magic did not exist.
Spencer Reid had been able to do magic since he could remember and he remembered a large amount due to his 187 IQ and eidetic memory. He never used his magic in his work. Sure he would make a circle when starting a new case. Being a genius most people believed him to be atheist, which he was in a sense as it was no deity he worshiped. His bare feet were planted in the soil firmly. His lounge pants legs were rolled up almost to the knees. Four tiny white candles burned around him. He looked up at the moon that peaked out from the cloudy sky of rural Oklahoma. The team were all asleep. He had been sharing a room with Morgan so as soon as he had started snoring was when he had made his exit. He had been quiet as he walked out of the small motels back door and into the grassy field behind with only his shirt, lounge pants and satchel bag. They had just arrived today so they were getting all the details that were surrounding the brutal murder of two women and a third missing as of 8pm that very evening. Reid had been itching since after dinner and it had been silent torture to have to wait until his entire team was asleep so he could sneak off.
He had read up on cases of magic through history, usually the one who claimed to possess it became lab rats and never heard from again. He had read all he could as a child on the subject so naturally he trained himself in it as it was second nature to use it for something pointless and it took no energy at all. He however had also come across what was described as witchcraft. The practice of the magical arts. Completely different from what he could so. It still made him feel better to practice control with the witchcraft. At age 22 when he had joined the FBI he had been nervous, so everything he did was awkward, from the way she dressed, to the way he spoke. Spencer Reid was a valuable part of the team and he and the others were a family, however he still hid his secret from them. The circle was something he did at the start of each case. To help keep the team as safe as he could with out using real magic. A distant rumble of thunder made Spencer crouch down as he would not be the tallest object in the field when the storm came in. His hands dug into the freshly disturbed dirt as he could smell the rain coming, the ozone thick as the moon soon was completely gone from view.
Calling the rain was simple, all one had to do was ground ones self and breath. It would not be a long storm but it would be enough, he needed this…to be clean from the earth herself. The whisper of magic circled him as lightning struck and Spencer held out his hand as the bolt was sucked into a ball form, crackling and sputtering its bright fire light. He felt his magic hum as he could not hold back the gleeful chuckle he gave as he tossed the bolt ball back into the air and it flashed away with a loud earth shaking boom which almost made the young agent fall over. The rain coming harder as his hair was soaked to his body as were his Cal-Tech sleep shirt and Doctor who lounge pants. Once the rain died down he felt lighter as he pulled himself from the now muddy ground and made his way back towards the motel…it had only been an hour that he had been gone, the storm only having lasted 45 minutes. Before he was even back to the motel he was clean, his hair dry. Mud completely gone. He made it a point to stop by the vending machine. He would not pay for it, using his magic to get what he wanted as he had to use the magic to keep him balanced, still energized from the storm and the lighting and rain play, even the earth had hummed in happiness of the user shifting the earth beneath him.
"Reid?" the tired voice of Aaron Hotchner behind him making him turn as he had just punched in the number for the nutty buddy that had just dropped.
" Oh…hey Hotch…couldn't sleep either?" he asked as he gave a small smile. The older agent shook his head.
" No…the storm and something else…were…you laughing earlier?" he asked as he was a bit skeptical of his own words. Reid made a front to look confused.
" No…I just came down to get a snack…however contemplating shoving it all down Morgans throat " he stated as the older agent chuckled and relaxed at his words.
" Alright…well…goodnight Reid…remember we have a briefing in the morning at nine" he stated as he turned to go back towards the room he and Rossi were sharing. Spencer walked slower to the room he and Morgan were sharing as he downed the bottle orange juice and nutty buddy bar before falling into bed as 3am chimed.
A new lead had led the team to what Reid could only describe as mother natures swimming hole. He rattled of random facts about the area and native lore but he was truly taken with the place, he would have to come back alone at some point. The third girl's body had been found hanging from a tree that was over a rock face.
" The way the body is hung suggest that it was a sacrifice of some sort…" he said as everyone looked at him funny.
" What?" he asked confused at the looks.
" Your saying someone hung this poor girl here as a sacrifice?" Morgan asked sounding very skeptical as Reid nodded.
" Yes, look here…she is hanging by her neck yes but her arm has been tied up to the rope with the other at her side" he said as he motioned to the way she was pointed.
" Her throat is slit and if you look at her other palm I am sure you are going to find the triangle of magics" Reid said as he looked then down at the edge of the watering hole.
" The ancient druids would sacrifice children and the elderly to beg the gods to grant them powers to protect and heal their people." He motioned to he water as he continued.
" It believed that bleeding a sacrifice out over a pool of water will give the user the abilities to predict and shape the future…" he added as he frowned a bit. Prentiss speaking up.
" So what about the other victims…they were not laid out in some sacrifice…why this one?" she asked as Reid was glad to work with the people that he did. The accepted his strange answers as he of course was a genius and would know these types of things. They also did not dismiss the significance of things to other people. They may think something was weird but they never said much more on things like that.
Reid thought for a moment.
" I think he is trying to strive for some sort of power that he perceives that he may be owned or lost?" he shrugged as he could not be sure as they really had nothing else to go on. Are their any practicing covens in the area?" he asked the local sheriff who gave him a bewildered look.
" Uhh…Im sorry what..Covens…Im not sure what that is" the older man stated as he tipped his hat back a bit his hands on his hips. Reid frowned as he pulled out his phone and called Garcia to see if she could find anything on social media about covens in the area, if anyone knew anything it would be them. He then looked back to Hotch who was talking to JJ.
" Another girl has gone missing…Angela Bowers…and get this…Garcia just happened to mention she is in a coven…" JJ said as she gave Reid a shocked look. He flushed and curled his shoulders a bit in on himself as he was not used to getting any attention.
"Good job Reid…" Hotch said as he gave the younger man a slight smile before going to back to what he had been doing before.
Later that evening the unsub literally ran into JJ and Reid while they were in line at the gas station. The man around the age of 40, dirty blond hair that looked like it had not been washed in weeks. Reid would not have paid him a lick of attention until the got a whiff of magic…it was not his type of magic and it was not inherent like his, no…he knew the smell of death and sacrifice. He watched him out of the corner of his eyes as the man walked to his car. He watched as the man made to pump the gas he had just paid for. Giving JJ his items and the money before excusing himself to follow the man. He could still hear JJ calling after him as he left the store. His gate sure as he walked right up to the man his hands going into his pockets and trying to look as small as possible.
"Sir…sir …." He called as he took in the mans car to get any information that he could from him before speaking, seeing several stickers on his rear window, a few of them were very gory scary movies. He smiled inwardly as he then continued.
" I am really sorry to bother you like this…but I am new to town and I could not help but noticing that you are a fan of some older horror movies…" he started as the man looked at him as if he were very strange indeed as Spencer flushed and bit his lower lip, acting very submissive around the taller man as he spoke again.
" I uh..like I said just moved to town and was wondering if ya might wanna watch some good movies together or something…" he added as the man blinked and then smirked he looked to be in a hurry but the act Spencer had was too good to pass up.
" Yeah…uh..Im in a hurry but here is my number"the man said as he pulled out a business card handing it to him. The name reading Henry Clark in bold black letters.
Arborist. This made since to him as he looked back up and smiled. Just as he was about to turn away a series of loud bangs come from the trunk of the car as Spencer jumped and the man bolted for the door. Spencer touched the back of the car as it would not crank and the trunk popped open. Turning back to the unsub he found him pointing a pistol in his direction and everything seemed to go in slow motion at that point in time. He could hear the muffled screaming form the girl who had duct tape around her mouth and hands. He could hear the yells from the rest of the team who had been parked behind where he was standing. He could see JJ pulling her own weapon. He could only hold his hand up as the gun went off but instead of him getting shot the unsub flew back into the car door which slammed the door forward breaking it. Spencer had not even thought about it until it had already happened. This sent him staggering back, one hand still on the car as he cried out in pain as it felt like his shoulder had been dislocated, his head hitting the back of the car as his legs fell out from under him. His ears rang and his vision blurred. He felt so very tired very suddenly. The last thing he felt was someone trying to pick him up when it all went black.