In a flash, Sabrina, her aunts and Salem were at the bottom of the stairwell in their home and now right before Sabrina's eyes was a beautiful view of the ocean. They were on a hill with an overlook of the beach and a few restaurants down below. The air smelled salty, the sun was shining and there was a nice cool breeze that blew gently. Sabrina didn't know if they were in San Francisco or in heaven. Wherever her Aunt Zelda zapped them to it was paradise. That was until Sabrina turned around.
"Um…what is this?" Sabrina asked. Right in front of her stood a shabby small motel that could use a paint job. The walls looked cracked and the windows and other outlines of the building had dirt smudges with the size ranging from small specks to large splatters that could take a lane of the wall. If she squint her eyes enough, Sabrina could see maybe a few holes in the roof or the rust that sucked out the brick red paint color. Surrounding the edges and corners of the motel grounds were plants that were brown and way passed their overgrown state. It was a good thing that they were witches because if they rented a car they would barely find parking with the motel's small parking lot and the streets were just filled up with cars.
"Welcome to Cliff Casa!" Salem exclaimed.
"This is the nice hotel that you and your followers stayed at?" Hilda choked out.
"Yep, after a long day's work we would go down to the bar, have some drinks on the beach and then we'd wake up either in our rooms or the beach…depending if it was a good or bad day. I mean the view sort of hasn't changed…in two-hundred years," Salem said.
"TWO HUNDRED YEARS!" Zelda yelled. Hikers, joggers and other people began to stare at them. Then again her aunt Zelda was yelling at a black cat. Zelda took a deep breath in to calm herself.
"Well you asked me to find you a hotel with a good budget and in a nice area. This was as cheap as they come. Not my fault you broads are so picky with the details," Salem said with a snarky tone.
"If anything we can stay here for one night and then book another hotel that looks nice on the outside AND inside," Hilda suggested.
"Good idea Hildy. For now let's just drop off our bags and go downtown to get inheritance that Great Aunt Constance left us," Zelda said.
"You and Sabrina can go do that. Tonight is the opening night for the Gay Icon Music Festival," Hilda said.
"Well it's still the afternoon why don't you both come with us?" Zelda asked.
"Zelly the music fest may start at eight but everyone is prepping and gathering right now."
"I need to get my makeup and fur done," Salem said.
Zelda rolled her eyes. "Fine then but first let's get checked in."
Meanwhile at San Francisco State University
Piper Halliwell was sitting in her car drumming her fingers against the steering wheel. Her wristwatch read 3:30. Phoebe was supposed to be released from her psychology class fifteen minutes ago!
As she waited nervously she thought about her afternoon luncheon with Dan. It went well to just talk to a normal mortal for once. She may have felt sparks or it could have been her stomach from having one or too many cookies. Still, she just couldn't shake the feeling there was something between them. She just hoped it was a good one because love has definitely been avoiding her lately. With a warlock trying to kill her and Leo's responsibilities as a Whitelighter the love boat for Piper had been running slow lately. Maybe Dan was the one who could help her get back on track…Or maybe she was thinking too far ahead. Her thoughts were interrupted the moment she heard tapping on her car door's window. She turned to see Phoebe smiling and waving while balancing a bunch of books and folders in her free hand. Piper unlocked the doors and let her sister in.
Phoebe hopped onto the seat and tossed her backpack and books in the backseat. "Hey, sorry I'm late but I had to ask my professor some questions about the upcoming final and there was a line."
"It's okay, it's okay but for now let's get downtown to the auction house before we miss the demon," Piper said as she started the ignition to the car.
"Got the potions?" Phoebe asked.
"They're right here," Piper said as her eyes pointed to the cup holder. Nestled in the holders were two red bottles to each hole. If these potions didn't work Piper had some more stored in a duffle bag in the backseat just in case should something happened. It was always better to be prepared than unprepared.
"Oh yeah, I made some of these in the science lab," Phoebe said. She began to pull out two bottles from her back jeans pocket.
"When did you make these potions?" Piper asked.
"I had some free time before my last class so during my lunch break I went to the laboratory and made these just in case you couldn't make any if your lunch date went on too long," Phoebe explained shoving the bottles back in the front pocket of her jacket. There was a sudden rumbling, gurgling noise in the car and both knew where it was coming from.
"You haven't eaten since when again?" Piper asked.
"Since maybe at seven this morning when grabbing a breakfast sandwich and smoothie at McDonald's," Phoebe said as she tried to shush her growling stomach from making anymore loud noises.
Piper reached over and opened up the glove compartment. Inside were some leftover sandwiches and cookies from her lunch date with Dan. Phoebe quickly grabbed the ham & cheese with lettuce, tomato and mayo and devoured it within two bites. Good thing Piper had five other sandwiches that were supposed to be dinner for herself and Prue. With Phoebe's appetite right now she would get lucky if there were even two sandwiches to fill her belly by the time they were done vanquishing the demon. Maybe, since they would be downtown, they could go out to a nearby restaurant. She pulled out of her parking space and now they were officially on their way to the Buckland Auction House.