One of Us, Part 17

Philip felt God's pull.
He left the recovering Micheal and dashed out of shelter. He reached into his vest pocket and pulled from it the knife Syrena had given him before.
John leaned out of the doorway. "Oi! Philip!"
The missionary dove into the seas.
"The man's got a bleedin' silver tail. Well, good thing I like not knowin' everything. Keeps me on my toes." And he ducked back into the beginnings of a house.

*

Syrena realized that for the second time she was staring Death in the face.
She wasn't frightened as she had been last time. The first time she had been little more than a child and lacking the Heavenly Father. But as Syrena had lived again, met and loved Philip, and met God, she had lost all fear of Death. And her final battle had only made her recognize her weakness, helping her to appreciate the greatness of God.
Her lips parted as if to sing.

*

As she took on the role of judge, jury, and executioner in one moment, Conduirt wondered, for a moment, if all this was worth it.
In that half second past the point of no return, it occurred to her that Syrena could be carrying a child, a silver-fin.

*

Philip took a lucky, or guided by Divine, swing.
Conduirt gasped in pain and let the knife go, clutching at the slice in her arm. She hissed angrily at Philip but did nothing.
"What was the point of this? You have done nothing but condemned yourself."
"You chose your fin," she hissed. "You know nothing. You have the stains of land's folly still on you. How can you be trusted? Man hates and hates his fellow creatures-"
Philip interrupted. "Like you have hated them?" He could see her mental clarity failing. Madness was clouding her. It had been a terribly good plan, luring all the threats together where she could easily attack. Now she was fading.
She hissed. "It is different!" In the corner of her eye, she could see the leader approaching with the rest of the school and faces she had run from.
"How? How is it different?"
Conduirt never answered. Instead, she turned and lunged for the posse that was flanking Tamara. One surged forward to meet her. With a swift blow, the danger was gone.
The other gold-fin spat at Conduirt's dead body. "No more cliff hangers for you."