Past and present collide when the legacy of evil that has stalked Salem for centuries returns with a vengeance. After fighting a deadly battle on a cliff high above the raging sea, Seabhac hovers at the point of death. With a final thrust of magic, he escapes to Avalon and passes the essence of his knowledge to his apprentice, Ainevar. Driven to protect the endangered druid magic, Ainevar flees Seabhac's attacker and begins a course of events that wind through history and take root in modern day Salem. It took a hefty bribe to convince New Yorker Cassandra Raines to decorate her brother's new house. Especially since the house is located in Salem, and Cassandra has an aversion to magic. Her arrival in town embroils Cassandra in ritual murders, latent powers gone awry, and Salem's attractive police chief, Samson Wilder, who harbors his own history of magic, curses, and deadly secrets.

"Once upon a time, there lived three witches…." As a child, Amarrah loved her grandmother's stories of three witches who were members of the king's harem. But they were more than just stories. Amarrah knows she was there with them…and now their legacy, along with an ancient box that once belonged to them, lies in her hands. Charged with keeping the box safe, Amarrah is heartbroken when it is stolen from her while she moves to America. Years later, she is shocked to see it on TV and is determined to get it back. Tracking the artifact leads her to Sergeant Harrison Brockson, a handsome soldier who stirs memories of a man she knew centuries ago in ancient Babylon. Is Harrison the key to finding the box—or could he be her destiny? Prequel novella to Maggie Shayne's exciting trilogy, The Portal.