The three of them arrived in a back alley, and Lucifer found himself hard pressed not to gape. "Well, they've built the place up a bit," he said, keeping his voice cool with some effort.

"Do you know what you're supposed to do?" Amenadiel demanded.

Lucifer waved him away. "Of course. Go away, now. I'm sure you'll know when it's finished, or someone will." After all, he could hardly enjoy himself with Amenadiel looming, and now that he'd gotten over his initial surprise, he wanted to explore.

Amenadiel nodded, his expression making it clear that he wasn't entirely sure that his bargaining had gone for the best. "Just… behave yourselves."

"Of course," Lucifer replied, all innocence. Amenadiel took himself away, and Lucifer mused, "Might have been good for him to specify how he wanted me to behave, but that's his problem, right, Maze?" At the lack of response, he turned to see that Maze had stepped to the intersection of the alley with the thoroughfare beyond. "Everything all right?" he asked, as he joined her.

Maze shifted her gaze to him, an abrupt movement. "Yeah," she replied, her voice too even. "It's a lot of brown, though. I was expecting more colors." She gestured to the buildings and then the ground.

"Well, I'm sure there will be a bit more variety. Let's see what we can see." Amenadiel had provided appropriate clothing as well as plenty of cash, and Lucifer certainly intended to make use of the latter. How long he'd be wearing the clothing, well, that remained to be seen.

"Are you really going to do what he wants?" Maze asked suddenly, with a vague gesture skyward that could have indicated either Amenadiel or Lucifer's father.

Lucifer drew in a breath, considering. "Well, it can't hurt to find this king," he mused. "Eventually. Nobody said we couldn't have some fun first, though."

And they did. They wandered about the city and gawked at the river. They found the promised weaponsmith and placed an order for a curved blade that the man had called a khopesh, as none of the available weapons had suited Maze. And then, finally, they turned toward the palace.

It ended up being easier to reach the king than Lucifer would have guessed. As it turned out, there were two kings, and the one they wanted was the younger of the two. They found him in an outdoor courtyard, sitting in the shade of a cluster of trees. There were attendants, of course, and guards who moved to bar their way, drawing the king's attention.

Not that he looked particularly regal, Lucifer mused. He could have mistaken the guards for their ruler; the king looked soft by comparison. Maze moved forward to deal with the guards, though she fell back at Lucifer's small headshake.

The long-faced man squinted up at them, then said, "Let them pass." The guards shifted to one side, and the king continued, still peering at Lucifer, "Who are you?"

"Lucifer," he replied. "And you are Amenhotep, yes?" He ignored the shocked looks he was receiving from all but the king, perhaps at his lack of obeisance. He was not about to bow to anyone, though, least of all to a human.

The king nodded, though he still squinted at Lucifer. "You aren't from here," he suggested.

Lucifer nodded. "Ah, yes, that's quite the understatement," he agreed, with a quick grin over his shoulder to Maze. Seeing her incomprehension, he offered a quick translation, then turned back to the king to query, "How did you know?"

"Well." The king looked Lucifer up and down, though his expression implied no assessment or desire, only puzzlement. He leaned in closer and said quietly, "There is a certain glow about you. Did you realize?"

Lucifer glanced down at himself, then back to Amenhotep. "I… glow?" He looked back at Maze, who certainly would have told him if he'd suddenly become a light source, but the demon had drifted back to the guards, the better to study their weapons. The guards, he noted, did not seem to be entirely at ease with this process. He approved of their sense of self-preservation.

"Are you the ba of a god?" Amenhotep queried, drawing Lucifer's attention once more. The king still studied Lucifer as if he was something to solve. "Are you serving his purpose?"

"No!" Lucifer replied promptly, with perhaps more vehemence than was entirely necessary. "No god. No. Just his son. I suppose."

"So, then, a god," Amenhotep replied, nodding as if satisfied.

Lucifer drew in a breath as if to argue further, but there was something about Amenhotep's clear gaze that made him stay silent, instead.

The king continued, "Which one?"

"Which god?" Lucifer frowned over his answer, struck by the fact that he wasn't sure what it was. "Well, the god. The one. There's only… does he even have a name?" He shrugged. "I just called him Dad."

"One god, lifted over the others?"

Lucifer inclined his head, startled by the sudden intensity of the king's gaze. "That's basically how it works for me, yes."

Amenhotep nodded, his expression gone thoughtful. "That… yes." He squinted at the sun, then back to Lucifer. "You will stay at the palace," he said, with the casual tone of one who expected obedience. "You and your companion," he added.

Lucifer considered arguing just for argument's sake, but he could use a place to stay. And why not the palace? He looked back to Maze, who seemed to have reached an accord with the guards. "We will," he agreed.

So Lucifer and Maze spent their days wandering about Thebes. The palace guards clearly regarded Maze as an oddity, but one worthy of wary respect. Still, she entertained herself by learning their techniques and then soundly defeating the guards with those same skills, when Lucifer was in the company of Amenhotep the younger.

This happened more than Lucifer would have thought; he found himself enjoying the company of this odd dreamer of a king. And always the man regarded him with puzzlement, and perhaps a hint of wonder.

So when Amenadiel arrived to inform him of his task's completion, he regarded his brother in confusion. "What did I do?" he queried. "We didn't do much, Amenhotep and I. We talked, we played at Hounds and Jackals. We ogled his lovely wife; if ever a woman deserved to be called The Beautiful One, it's her."

"You did as you were supposed to do," Amenadiel replied, and Lucifer felt his hackles rise.

"What does that mean?" he demanded. "I didn't even try."

And he hadn't. Amenadiel had given him specific topics to discuss with Amenhotep: trade issues with Mittani, a possible war with the Hittites. He had brought up none of them.

Amenadiel smiled, and Lucifer asked, suspicion coiling in his chest, "What was he talking about, when he said that I glowed? What did he see?"

"He has eyes to see that part of you that is still divine," Amenadiel replied.

Lucifer got to his feet, the suddenness of the motion drawing Maze's attention. She ran a hand along the hilt of her khopesh, brows lifting in inquiry, but Lucifer shook his head. It would be more satisfying to beat the condescending smirk from Amenadiel's stupid face.

He considered it, his fist tightening. But first he wanted answers. "What's going to happen to him?" he demanded.

Amenadiel shook his head, unconcerned. "Whatever our father intended."

"But it's my fault, now, what happens," Lucifer protested. "The humans blame me for all their crimes, but this time they'll be right."

Amenadiel peered at Lucifer in confusion. "He has free will, Lucifer. He's responsible for his own actions. And you know Father wouldn't guide him to commit a crime."

"Why else would he send me?" Lucifer replied, with a bitter twist to his lips that was not a smile. "Why not send Gabriel or Michael or even you?"

Amenadiel made an exasperated noise. "Even me. Thanks for that. And he chose you because you were the most suited for the task. He doesn't make mistakes, Lucifer."

Lucifer made a wry face. "Oh, of course he doesn't." He considered pointing out his own fate to his brother, but knew he would not want to hear Amenadiel say that that particular action had not been a mistake. Best to leave it alone.

Realizing that answers were not forthcoming, Lucifer turned to Maze. "Do you want to stay?" he queried. "Would you rather return to Hell?"

Amenadiel's words had left a sour taste in his mouth, and while he had enjoyed his time in Thebes, he felt like there was nothing more to do.

"I could go back," Maze replied, with a shrug.

Lucifer returned his attention to Amenadiel. "Right," he said briskly. "Take us back."

Puzzled, Amenadiel replied, "But you argued, you said you wanted time here."

"I changed my mind," Lucifer replied, his voice flat. Even though he'd tried not to accomplish his father's task, he had apparently done so inadvertently.

So Amenadiel returned them to Hell. "Father is grateful -" he began.

"I don't care about his gratitude," Lucifer replied, shoving down that tiny part of himself that did, in fact, care.

Amenadiel sighed. "Maybe next time -"

"There won't be a next time."

Lucifer was wrong about that, though it took more than a thousand years for that time to arrive.