Sweat pooled on her brow as Kyera focused and took a quick stab . The soft crunch sound alerted both herself and Clovis to her success . Prayer in the language of shadows fell from her lips as she slowly pulled the needle back out .

"What was that?" Clovis asked almost nervously and Kyera gave him a sad smile .

"The sound of a skull caving in . " she replied before using the needle to dig out the now dead creature . The shapeless worm lay on the bed beside the Empress . A small sac of some sort attached to its back . She examined it closely and growled .

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"d.a.m.n . " Kyera cursed without warning, shoving the body into a vile . He frowned realizing the worm was more dragon like and made of a nearly clear, translucent flesh . It looked almost ethereal . Then it struck him .

"Is that a Soul Worm?" he asked in disbelief and Kyera shook her head .

"No, but similar . This is what kills the body so a soul worm can devour its mind . We call it a Doll Maker . " Kyera explained as she sprinkled powder onto the creature and stoppered the bottle . Clovis felt his skin crawl as Kyera spoke .

"Doll Maker?" he asked looking at the pale beauty of his mother's face . She did indeed look like a porcelain doll . Her delicate features whiter than normal and her cheeks flushed from the fever . Kyera nodded sadly .

"It feeds on the power within the spine . The longer it feeds, the less possibility that the victim will ever move again . The cruelest part of a Doll Maker is nothing it does will actually kill you . You still feel pain, and you are still aware, but you are helpless . " Kyera explained examining the wound left by the creature . Little marks inside the whole caught her attention .

With great care she used two needles to extract a white membrane . Pale yellow markings making her uneasy . "someone stabbed your mother with a Dollmaker egg sac . Who hates her this much?" Kyera demanded looking at the woman with pity in her eyes . She ran a gentle hand over the older woman's brow to silence her pain .

"Wait you mean there are more inside her?" he asked eyes widening .

"Only one, its okay they are born in twos . " Kyera explained trying to sooth him . "One Doll Maker and one Drainer . The Drainer is why she's asleep . " kyera explained looking her over . She began feeling the Empress's body over searching for the lump she knew to find . Sure enough, at the base of her spine a rock sized lump could be felt . Kyera repressed a shudder as it moved . She slid her hands out from under the Empress .

"Did you find it? Can she be woke up?" Clovis asked, his voice dreading the answer . Kyera hesitated .

"I will not know till it is removed from her body and I check her system . We need to roll her over as carefully as possible . " Kyera responded . Between them both amd a guard they rolled the Empress onto her stomach . Clovis frowned as he noticed the visible lump . Blood and some whitish liquid seemed to be present . Kyera cleaned it off and used her knife to slit the skin open and extract the creature . Its teeth holding onto the juncture between two vertebrae .

Without a second thought, Kyera pierced it through the brain, leaving the dead body to be removed . Once she put it into a bottle she smiled . Focusing her energy she made a full sweep of the Empress's internal system before removing her hands from her body .

"Leave her on her stomach for a while, we need to rinse that wound a couple times before we sew it up . " Kyera ordered sitting back into the chair by the bed . Clovis handed her a small cup of tea, and waited patiently for her to finish it .