"No? This time I will raise you myself from infancy. You will be my adopted daughter and you will love me as your father. Together we will make certain all the souls under our care follow The Way forever."
During this speech, Samantha had advanced within six feet of Prudence. A few more feet and she could try to take the knife from the reverend. "I would never love you, even if you raised me," Samantha said. She took another step forward. "For all your talk about recognizing Satan, you've never looked in the mirror and seen him staring back at you."
"Blasphemer! I am a servant of God. I serve the cause of righteousness!" The knife trembled in the reverend's hand as his rage built. "You presume to call me wicked? You're nothing more than a savage. You kill with as little thought as Mr. Pryde. You were an animal before I brought you here and you're still an animal now."
This last sentence brought Samantha to a halt. "That's not true," she said. "I didn't mean to kill Mr. Pryde."
"Didn't you?" Reverend Crane sneered from behind Prudence. "The night you came here, you were not trying to help Miss Brigham. You were trying to attack her. Out there, in the heathen wilderness, you were a murderer and a thief. You were a blight upon God's creation. I brought you to Eternity to reform you and put your skills to a useful purpose so you might atone for your life of sin. But look at you now, poised to strike down a man of God."
"You're lying! I'm not a murderer or a thief. I couldn't be," Samantha said. The words sounded hollow even to her ears. Prudence looked at her with wide eyes, as if seeing her in a new way. "It can't be true."
"Can't it? I have the proof in my house. I have the history of all your misdeeds. I know everything about you." Samantha didn't notice what the reverend was doing until Prudence cried out a warning. The reverend shoved her aside and lunged at Samantha with the knife.
Samantha stepped aside in time for the knife to cut only the fabric of her left sleeve. She spun around to punch the reverend in the back. He stumbled, but regained his footing. They circled each other, the reverend swiping the knife at the air to keep Samantha at bay. "Will you kill me now, savage," he hissed. "Then what will you do? A creature like you can't live amongst civilized people, not without my spiritual guidance. There is still time for you to join me. You can still save your immortal soul from the fires of Hell."