Reeling from the loss of Magnus, the team is forced to find a replacement, and Harik has someone in mind. His old bounty hunting partner, Remo Alaris, reluctantly joins Victor's team as a favor to his old friend. At the same time, Aka Manah, the demon prince of evil minds, has risen, and he has chosen a lieutenant. The Mortifer, a being of pure malevolence that lives and kills in the shadows, has begun systematically wiping out Puritan Inquisitors and pinning the blame on General Victor Cain. Now, disavowed and disgraced, the excommunicated master hunter has become the hunted and labeled a w rloga or Oath Breaker by the very Inquisition he swore to serve. Now, Victor and his team are forced to go on the run westward to the neighboring city of Paratus. But the Inquisition is not the only obstacle in Victor's way. Supernatural creatures long thought extinct, the long-awaited plot to usurp the Inquisition and the peace treaty to bring war against the World Tree Coven, as well as the trauma of Victor's past, have all come calling, and they will not be ignored. Meanwhile, Scarlet and Harik face an obstacle of their own that threatens to end their relationship and their lives. Victor and his team are at a breaking point. Will they come together and be forged stronger in the flames of perdition? Or will they fracture under the pressure?