Before the Underworld can rise up and end the war between heaven and hell, they must first defeat the darkness within themselves: The Dreadsgrip.The power reaped from mortal souls comes at a significant cost. Any reapers that siphon too much ethereal power from the harvest may lose themselves to the Dreadsgrip, an irresistible thirst to destroy. Now, a rogue agent in Death’s Underworld is stoking a mutiny, fueled by the terrible Dreadsgrip plague that affects all denizens of the Underworld—a plague that could derail the leader of the Underworld, the Alltaker’s plans to rise up against the celestial powers of both heaven and hell. With this growing curse reverberating throughout the Alltaker's kingdom, Death’s impulsive daughter Kier must join forces with the Queen’s intractable right hand, Exraile, to root out and destroy this danger to the land between. These mighty warriors, caught in the midst of a celestial war, will need more than just their swords to slice through the Shadows of the Underworld.

Three factions lead the Underworld in their secret rebellion against Heaven and Hell. Only through their unity will they defeat the Celestials, yet two of the faction leaders are constantly at odds. Gethsemoni, leader of the Faction of Flesh, and Xiall, leader of the Faction of Bone, pit their pride against each other in the training arena: Gethsemoni’s gargantuan golem Odium must fight Xiall’s stalwart soldier Mortighull.Odium is a raging juggernaut of sheer muscle and might. Mortighull is a swift and canny skeletal warrior. The fight between the two spans the length and breadth of the Underworld, in a battle that extends beyond a mere training exercise. Odium and Mortighull are treated as pawns in the War of Flesh and Bone, but where their leadership has lost sight, they struggle to find new purpose in the face of an even larger threat.

Before the Underworld can rise up and end the war between heaven and hell, they must first defeat the darkness within themselves: The Dreadsgrip.The power reaped from mortal souls comes at a significant cost. Any reapers that siphon too much ethereal power from the harvest may lose themselves to the Dreadsgrip, an irresistible thirst to destroy. Now, a rogue agent in Death’s Underworld is stoking a mutiny, fueled by the terrible Dreadsgrip plague that affects all denizens of the Underworld—a plague that could derail the leader of the Underworld, the Alltaker’s plans to rise up against the celestial powers of both heaven and hell. With this growing curse reverberating throughout the Alltaker's kingdom, Death’s impulsive daughter Kier must join forces with the Queen’s intractable right hand, Exraile, to root out and destroy this danger to the land between. These mighty warriors, caught in the midst of a celestial war, will need more than just their swords to slice through the Shadows of the Underworld.

Three factions lead the Underworld in their secret rebellion against Heaven and Hell. Only through their unity will they defeat the Celestials, yet two of the faction leaders are constantly at odds. Gethsemoni, leader of the Faction of Flesh, and Xiall, leader of the Faction of Bone, pit their pride against each other in the training arena: Gethsemoni’s gargantuan golem Odium must fight Xiall’s stalwart soldier Mortighull.Odium is a raging juggernaut of sheer muscle and might. Mortighull is a swift and canny skeletal warrior. The fight between the two spans the length and breadth of the Underworld, in a battle that extends beyond a mere training exercise. Odium and Mortighull are treated as pawns in the War of Flesh and Bone, but where their leadership has lost sight, they struggle to find new purpose in the face of an even larger threat.