Latus

My little brother brought it to me this afternoon. That damnable thing. My uncle had taken him to a County Fair. He had won it and insisted upon giving it to me. "Come on Eric, please take him. I won him just for you." he whined.

I sighed, just what I needed something to take care. I could barely take care of myself most days. "All right, but you have to name him or he will be Goldfish until he is belly up." Stephen giggled and set the bowl on the kitchen counter.

"Well, he says he likes the name Latus." Stephen suggested almost immediately. I agreed, though it was an odd name. I was sure I heard it before. He said? I pondered, sometimes my brother was an odd child. "Besides you need some company around here. It must get boring living by yourself. Are you ever going to move back home?" he asked bluntly. My little brother never knew subtlety.

"We've been through this before. Next week Sharonne will be living here. I'll have company all the time then." I reminded. He frowned deeply and stared at the fish.

"Oh yeah...her." he said with venomous sarcasm. "She better be nice to Latus or he will eat her." This revelation, silly as it was, caught me off guard. There was still something about that name.

My uncle, who had been quietly taking in the conversation, shrugged. "What are you gonna do?" he laughed. "The kid is concise about everything."

I nodded mutely, doubting my uncle even really knew what concise meant. He was a little man using big words to try and make himself look important. I glanced at the fish. It lingered near the side of the bowl closest to us. I would have sworn it was staring at us. It was a fish though, nothing strange about fish eyes being staring. Do fish even blink? I wondered as my uncle began to drone on about some inane business at his office.

A knock came and Stephen ran to get the door. "Hi Sharonne." he said as stepped aside allowing her in. She smiled at him and tousled his hair. She always messed up his hair, causing him to scowl with disgust. I think that is what he hated most about her, she tousled his hair everytime she saw him. Well...that and he had decided she stole his big brother.

"Uncle Jim, we have to get home. Mom wanted us there for dinner." Stephen insisted. Jim nodded and started toward the door. Stephen smiled innocently and followed Jim out.

"That was weird." Sharonne commented. "I hope he warms up to me eventually." she sighed. "Hey a fishie!" she said bending to look into the bowl. "What's his name?"

"Latus." I said automatically. She looked puzzled then shrugged. "Something wrong?" I asked. She shook her head and took my hand.

"Stephen coming back?" she asked. I shook my head, she smiled devilishly. "Wonderful, let's go to bed." I grinned and allowed myself to be lead to the bedroom.

****

I awoke to a darkened room. Sharonne's side of the bed was cold, she had not been in it for some time. I got up and pulled on a robe. Glancing at the clock as I left the room, I noticed it was just after two am. Surely she wouldn't leave this late.

I slipped as I entered the living room and landed in a sticky, dark substance. The scent of blood permeated the very air. I lifted my hand and examined it in the near blackness of the room. The scent of blood became stronger than ever. "Oh God!" I struggled to stand without slipping again. I managed to get my feet under me and hit the lights. The room was bathed in a blinding white accenting the crimson covering the floor. Frightened, I moved my eyes slowly over the room searching for the source. I kept my back to the wall for fear of something sneaking up behind me. I dared not go farther into the room.

There was no sign of Sharonne, other than the blood. My attention was drawn toward the fish bowl. The water was murky with blood. I moved closer staying against the wall and looked into the bowl. There was no way that a fish could breathe in bloody water.

Yet, there he was moving about the bowl oblivious to the blood. I lifted the phone and dialed for emergency. I requested the police and sat down to wait. "Latus." I said as I watched him. He paused and watched me as well. "Latus." I whispered again. His eyes seemed to take on different hue as he watched me. I could not stop myself from staring at him, my eyes constantly upon his, unblinking...fish don't blink...unyielding, merciless. Latus who lived in the Nile. An ancient god, worshipped so long ago, forgotten now. Forgotten yet still hungering for the sacrifice. Now forced to sacrifice to himself. A god with no worshippers, a god enraged. A god...without mercy.

The police are here. I see them, but cannot react. They have searched every inch of my apartment. Sharonne is gone. They do not know where. I do, I know now. Latus ate her just like Stephen said he would. One of the officers is looking in bowl, yes, there she is, in the fish. He is putting his hand in. I watch, my lips unable to move so that I may reveal my terror. He lifts Latus and examines him carefully. "Hey Carl the fish must have died in the dirty water. Should I flush him?"

The other officer nodded. I struggled to speak but words would not come. He could not flush the fish. It was not dead, it was a god. Gods do not die. It was a god neglected and so began to take his own sacrifices, not all of them in blood. I hear the toilet flush and tears flood my eyes, though none are shed. I wish they would flow so that officers would know I am here. I struggle and finally managed a hoarse, scarcely audible whisper. "He...stole...my soul."