Amon had failed his lord. The Pharaoh had been assassinated, and he had arrived at the scene only to have his liege pass away in his arms. He should have protected him. He deserved to be cursed to guard his tomb forever. It was the least he could do.

The chamber built deep inside the hidden pyramid was not particularly large. Smaller than the Pharaoh's bedroom that he could still remember every detail of. By now he could have closed his eyes and traced every object here without seeing. It had been so long.

Every day he'd wake to the whispers from the outside, carried by the faint breeze wafting in and out of this stone prison. A mortal man would not have even heard them. But in addition to perfect night vision, sphinxes like him also had supernatural hearing. The tales of life around them, even far away...they could sense them all. Maybe it was part of his punishment. That he could hear and remember, but never touch again.

Most sphinxes were cat-like in appearance, with only their heads like a human's. His Pharaoh, whose side he had stayed at all his life, had preferred him looking more like a human. His ears were a little longer and more pointed than human and he still had his lion's tail, but otherwise he retained an appearance of a young lad barely entered adulthood.

"Good morning, my lord," he whispered as he stepped next to the large sarcophagus. Then he ran one hand over the painted wood, still in perfect condition. "My love."

Everybody in the palace had surely known. In hindsight, their relationship might have even undermined the Pharaoh's authority. The sacred beast should have been his unconditional servant. But Amon had always had a strong will of his own. And it had quickly turned out that was how the Pharaoh liked him the best anyway. At least in private.

He leaned his arms on the coffin with a heavy sigh. "I wish it had been me...It sucks to be left behind."

~*~*~

A loud crash woke him. His eyes quickly scanned the chamber and came to stop on the wall farthest from the sarcophagus. A large chunk had been broken, and even now someone was clearing the remaining tiles away.

A bright light like the sun was aimed at him. He squeezed his eyes partially shut and tried to shield them with his hand. "Who's there?!" he barked. This tomb should have been hidden forever.

"Ah...hello? Who are you?" The intruder spoke barely understandably. Either the Egyptian language had changed a lot or he just was terrible in it. He sounded like an adult male and smelled of sand and desert sun – no perfumes and probably not even any water for at least a week. He couldn't see enough to tell more.

"Do us both a favor and stop butchering my language," he snapped. "Your accent is giving me a headache."

"How...how can you speak English? How are you alive here, all alone?" There was a brief pause. He must have noticed the tail swinging agitatedly from side to side. "What are you?"

"I am a sphinx. I speak all languages known to men and more." Everyone should know that sphinxes were the guardians of royalty. Surely, he didn't have to explain that. Although most weren't immortal...No, he didn't want to think about that.

"A sphinx? Do you have a riddle for me?"

Was this guy an idiot? There had been that one sphinx he had heard about who gave her victims a chance to answer her riddle and live. Then someone came along and figured out the answer. It wasn't like it was a common practice. "A riddle? Alright, how about this one? It is red and flowing all over the floor."

"I know. A carpet."

"Wrong. It is your blood if you don't leave my Pharaoh's resting place right now, graverobber," he snarled. "And stop pointing that light to my face!"

The man put the sun-tube into a small alcove on the wall so that it cast some light on both of them. He actually wasn't bad to look at. He was a foreigner, no doubt about it, and there were both wrinkles on his face and strands of gray in his otherwise brown hair, but he still retained at least some of the handsomeness that had surely made ladies swoon in his youth.

"I assure you, I'm not a graverobber. My name is Jules Darbonne. I'm an archeologist from France, although I have been living in Egypt for years now."

His dark brown eyes were gentle. They reminded him of the Pharaoh.

That only made his mood sourer. "What in blazes is an archeologist?!"

"Well...It's someone who looks for ancient items." He hastened to add, "Not to steal them! They should be put to museums where everyone can look at them and learn about history."

He stepped closer and sniffed the man thoroughly. He smelled healthy. He should still live many years – unless he'd come to a violent end.

Jules watched him, puzzled, but made no threatening moves.

Amon decided he would do. It wasn't like there were many candidates to choose from. He could not leave the tomb alone long enough to look for others.

"So you like ancient items? I have one I'm certain you'll love." He returned to the back of the room and with utmost care retrieved a fragile crystal orb from the padded basket it was stored in. Then he brought it back to the man. "This is a life sphere."

"Oh? It doesn't look like much. Was it used in funerals?" Jules almost automatically took the orb when Amon presented it to him.

Soft light danced across his skin, starting from the hand holding the artifact and reaching to every part of his body. Then it faded, absorbed into his flesh.

Amon knew the eyes looking at him. The body was different, but the essence – the soul – was the same.

"Your Highness!" He dropped to his knees. "I am so glad to see you again."

"There is no need for formality with only the two of us," the man reminded him and pulled him back to his feet.

"Of course!" He hadn't been sure, so he had played it safe. "I thought...that you might still be angry with me. I did not protect you. I could only preserve your spirit in secret and wait."

"Why did you do this? That magic is forbidden for a reason."

His Pharaoh sounded so sad. He couldn't believe his ears. "But it worked! I saved you!"

A gentle hand came to rest on top of his head, like so many times in the past. "My dear Amon, this is not what I want. I should have walked the Field of Reeds millennia ago. You must let me go."

No, that couldn't be. He didn't want to believe it. "I could finally bring you back to life! I can fix my mistake! Why-"

The Pharaoh didn't need to say anything. A mere look filled with divine authority silenced Amon mid-sentence.

His eyes filled with tears. "Is this my punishment? To watch over your dead body for eternity?"

He shook his head. "I long to be reunited with you in the next life, beloved. But not yet. This man who found us is a good one. His heart is pure. He will be a fitting master for you for the rest of your earthly days."

"But this body lives forever. We will never be together."

"I lift your curse. You did not fail me." The orb rolled off his palm agonizingly slowly. "I will wait for you..."

Amon fought down the urge to scream as the life sphere shattered to thousands of fragments. This was his lord's – his true love's – wish. But it still felt like his heart was being torn out of his chest.

Jules stared at him with tears streaming down his cheeks and his nose running. What an ugly sight on otherwise handsome features.

Then the man pulled him into a fierce bear-hug. "I understand! I'll take care of you from now on, sonny."

Sonny?!

Amon fought back enough to free his face from the fabric it was pressed against. "How dare you?! I am a sphinx of the golden era of Egypt! You will not treat me like a child!"

His protests went either unnoticed or ignored. And this man was supposed to be his new master?

Hah! The sun would go out before that happened.