Phoebe stretched out her hamstrings on the deck of her two story beach house. She and Coop had decided shortly after their third child was born that they needed to find a bigger place to live. After months of searching, they finally fell in love with Stinson Beach. It was about 15 miles outside of the city, far enough to seem like a whole other world yet close enough to still be with her sisters. The quiet town was perfect for their needs. Everyone was friendly and everyone minded their business.

The beach was perfect for Phoebe. The private beaches provided her with a safe place to jog in the mornings, and to relax in the afternoons. She was nearing 66 years old, but she maintained a healthy lifestyle. At her last physical, her doctor told her that she had the body of a 30 year old. She laughed when the young doctor told her that, and teased him that she was a happily married woman. He was right though, she was in excellent shape. Her hair was just starting to turn gray. Her skin was still pulled taught against her muscular arms and legs. She ran every morning, followed by pilates on the beach, and then she worked on her martial art forms for about an hour. It was a daily ritual, and it kept her young.

From the deck of her two story home she could see miles in any direction. She always caught her breath when she looked on to see the beauty of the California mountains that were to the north of her home. She was especially taken with them in the summertime, when the peaks were green and full of life. She could sit for hours and stare to the west for hours as she looked on at the ocean. The white capped waves pounded on the shore constantly which soothed her. White sand stretched as far as the eye could see, and wild birds flew lazily in circles. It was almost as if she were living in a movie and often wondered to herself when she would wake up from this dream.

She and Coop had just celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary that past month, but she still remembered their wedding day as if it were yesterday. It was hard to believe that she now had three daughters of her own, not to mention 8 grandchildren and one more on the way. Despite her age, Phoebe still felt vigor of youth.

Coop came out into the morning sunlight and smiled at his wife. Her beauty always took his breath away. He handed her a glass of tomato juice and motioned for her to sit down. She accepted the offer and smiled down at her youngest daughter, Patty. She was spending the weekend with them while her husband was gone on business and was now playing on the beach with her children, Dakota and Alexis. The glow of pregnancy surrounded Patty. Her sun kissed skin was golden and healthy, her long chestnut hair shone in the sunlight, and her green eyes sparkled with happiness. Phoebe smiled down at the scene and absorbed it all.

"Who is that?" Coop asked Phoebe.

"Who is who?" Phoebe asked her husband.

"That man over there watching Patty and the girls." Coop replied pointing toward a man with his back to them.

"It's probably just Michael," she replied referring to her son in law.

"Michael is out of town, remember?" Coop replied with a little bit of worry lacing his words.

Phoebe tensed as the words that Coop spoke sunk in. Michael was out of town and wasn't expected back for two more days. Their house was in a gated community, the beaches private, and nobody could get in without a visitors pass. Though it was possible that the person could be a neighbor or a guest of a neighbor, Phoebe doubted it.

As if he could sense that he was being watched, the figure turned to look at Phoebe and Coop. He was dressed entirely in black, and there was no expression on his masked face at all. He stood there staring at them for a moment and Phoebe felt her bones chill. The figure boldly waved at Phoebe and Coop.

"Patty!" Phoebe yelled. "Get the kids up here, NOW!"

Patty turned, a half smile frozen on her face. Quickly, she pulled her children close to her as she locked eyes with the masked man. He pointed at her and started walking slowly toward them. Patty raised her hands, ready to throw him away with telekinesis if she needed to.

"Stay back," she ordered. "Don't force me to do something you'll regret."

Phoebe watched the scene in slow motion. She was too far to get to them on time, yet close enough to watch in horror as her daughter got attacked with her grandchildren at her side.

"Coop," Phoebe said. "Get down there!"

Phoebe jumped up and rushed down the stairs of the deck that led to the beach. She felt as if her legs were made of lead, and her heart was pounding out of her chest. Coop had materialized in front of Patty and the children, but the masked man was inching closer showing no fear.

"Coop!" Phoebe yelled. "Get the kids out of there!"

Coop took a hold of Dakota and Alexis's shoulders and disappeared with the familiar sparkle of pink and silver orbs. Patty stood on guard, waiting to see what the mans next move would be. Still, he inched closer at a steady pace toward her. Phoebe ran faster, hoping that she could get to them on time.

"Throw him," Phoebe screamed at her daughter. "Use your powers and throw him, dammit!"

Patty reached down into the core of her body and summoned all the strength that she could. She pulled her arms over her head and forced an invisible wall of energy at the assailant. He flew ten feet backward with his arms flailing wildly, but he landed on his feet. He stood looking at her for only a moment, and then broke out into a run toward her.

"Hey!" Phoebe shouted. Patty had closed the gap between them when she had thrown him backwards. The man hadn't seemed to notice until Phoebe made her presence known. He stopped running toward Patty and turned to face the other witch.

"Who are you?" Phoebe asked him trying to catch her breath. "And what do you want?"

The man looked from Phoebe to Patty as if trying to decide who he wanted to take on first. Quickly, he charged at Phoebe. She jumped out of the way just in time and grabbed a hold of his arm. Using her years of martial arts training, she flipped him over and he landed on his back with a thud. He wrenched his arm out of her grasp and rolled over onto his hands and knees as he attempted to get up.

"Oh no you don't," Phoebe said as she kicked him in the ribs. "You're not going anywhere!"

She reached down and grabbed a hold of his collar and pulled him to his feet. Rage was pulsing through her body as she reached for his mask. How dare these demons come to her home and threaten her offspring. It had been years since she had fought a demon, but the familiar rush that had always filled her gut was present.

Phoebe caught her breath as the shock of a premonition took over. Her grandniece, Jodi, was locked in a dungeon somewhere. She sat on the floor against a stone wall, her long hair matted and dirty. Her face was stained with tears and she clutched a bundle tight in her arms. Three more masked men walked into the little cell and pointed down to her. Jodi shook her head violently, tears openly pouring down her face. One of the men reached down and snatched what turned out to be a newborn baby and it screamed out in protest. Suddenly he flew across the little room and slammed against the wall. The baby went flying through the air, but Jodi rushed forward and caught the baby. Outraged, the two remaining men went to a corner in the cell. They pulled a woman up by the hair and looked deeply into her eyes. Patty hatefully matched their gaze, and then she erupted into flames leaving only a burned smudge where she once was.

"What did you do?" Phoebe asked between her teeth as she came out of her premonition and looked hard at the masked stranger. The only response that she got was laughter ringing in her ears before he shimmered out of her grasp.