A dagger from a dancer

A shrill whistling sound pierced the air around Venus and the lizardmen and they all looked upwards and around in surprise. The noise was alien, not made by any living creature, and yet it sounded familiar to the Shadow Hunter. One of the reptillian warriors suddenly shook violently and then slowly looked down at itself. It appeared to be genuinely surprised to see three daggers sticking out of its chest, buried all the way up to the handle. Venus and the other lizardmen stared at the first one wordlessly as it slumped to the ground, eyes still open in shock. Again the whistling noise sounded throughout square, and this time Venus saw it:

Daggers. More and more daggers. Each spinning blade reflecting the afternoon sun.

Like a storm of twinkling stars, the throwing knives showered all around her, but not at her, she noticed. The remaining pair of lizardmen near Venus were pincushioned by the flurry of blades and they too were felled. One of them took a knife in the eye and howled tremendously, flailing its sword around uselessly. Its huge bulk was punctured by a six more daggers before it finally died. The other took a blade to the throat and died instantly.

Then it was over. A chill silence spread from the lizards' corpses and Venus dared not speak lest she somehow dispell this waking dream.

Tiny footsteps rang off the stones behind her. Light and almost imperceptible, Venus might not have heard them at all if not for her training as a Shadow Hunter. Scrabbling to her feet, Venus looked to her savior and gasped in surprise. The one who saved her was a slim woman that stood only about as high as Venus' shoulders. Her ivory-white hair was tied into a single braid that draped down between her shoulderblades, and a soft, pretty face revealed half-open eyes and a dreamy smile.

"Jillia?"

Standing before Venus was one of the top five hunters of the Namina branch: Jillia, the Dancing Dagger. She was wearing a tight, full-bodied suit that had a black-and-white checkered pattern. Her suit molded nicely to the young woman's body, showing off a well toned body and a pair of perfectly shaped breasts. On top of the suit, Jilla was wearing a pleated miniskirt around her waist, also checkered in design. Hidden in between the pleats of her skirt and underneath the body suit was a multitude of daggers and blades. The harlequin-styled woman turned to Venus and twirled a pair of thin daggers between her fingers, giving her a lopsided smile.

"The ravishing of lizards will be your worry of leasts," Jillia said, "If you don't watch your step, O Tracker of Beasts."

Venus shakily turned to stand beside her fellow Shadow Hunter. Thinking back to just a few moments ago, she had to supress a shiver. A few more minutes a she could have been **** or killed, or worse, enslaved and made a fucktoy for a tribe of scaly monstrosities. The thought left her mouth dry.

"Did you not enjoy the song sung by my Choir? Or would you have preferred a harp or lyre?" Jillia asked, tilting her head in genuine concern.

Venus looked down at one of the fallen lizardmen, with half a dozen knives protruding from his flesh. The handle of each throwing dagger was hollowed out and had holes drilled along the side. Jillia called them her 'Knives of the Choir' because of the high-pitched whistling sound they made as she threw them at her enemies. But they could have made farting noises for all Venus cared, she was safe because of them.

"No, no. Thank you, Jillia. I'm grateful. Really." She finally said as she brushed the dirt off her torn clothes and attempted to cover herself modestly with what was left. "I would have been in real trouble if hadn't come when you did."

Jillia beamed. "Just so."

A heavy, deep voice called out to them from afar. Venus looked around and saw a tall man some distance away, streaked in blood. Ace was approaching them from the far side of the street, looking haggard and tired but none worse for wear. There was lizardman blood all over his armor and face, but he seemed unharmed. As they moved to meet him, Jillia presented Venus with a travelling cloak as a replacement for her own torn clothes, which she gratefully accepted.

"Let's go." She said.