"I do believe you're right, Alek," said Ma. "We checked the envelope for a return address or any sort of clue as to its origin, but could find nothing."
Alek's heart sank.
"However, we do know several other helpful things. Years before Deryn was born, Artemis had been fascinated with birds. The quetzal was one he was especially interested."
"Is that what this is? I've never seen anything like it before," said Alek, looking down at the picture of the green bird again.
"Yes, it is. It lives it Central America, in an exotic place called Guatemala. Artemis never saw one in person, at least not to my knowledge; he'd only read about them in books. And I know for a fact one of those books is in Deryn's room, and it was one of her favorites. She always used to tell Artemis she wanted one as a pet," she said with a smile.
Jaspert said, "The quetzal has been seen in a place called Tikal in Guatemala. It's an ancient city, supposed to hold dark secrets about the Mayans, with plenty of wild and exotic beasties to study."
Alek looked up at him in surprise, and Ma smiled at him proudly.
He looked right back at them with a grin. "What? I went to the library."
Wild and exotic beasites had been part of the reason Deryn had abandoned everything she called home. She said she "needed to get out into the wild and find all the unknown creatures there were waiting for her." Alek hadn't believed a word of it then, and didn't believe a word of it now. He had wanted to, but she had too obviously been hiding something from him...
"Aye, Jaspert's got a sweetheart there," she said with a mischievous glint in her eyes. One that reminded Alek painfully of Deryn.
Jaspert feigned embarrassment. "Ma! We're only getting to know each other better."
"Aye, I'm sure you are," she smiled. "Anyways, Aleksandar, do you think you can do it?"
Alek sighed and paused. Here were two of the most important people in his life asking him to find the one person that meant more to him than anything, the one that had thrown everything they had away for reasons unbeknownst to everyone. Still, though, he thought as he looked at each other their faces. Their daughter and sister saved my life several times. And these people have always been there for me. And maybe he could finally get to the bottom of the whole thing. He did have a secret hope that he and Deryn would one day be together again, a hope he had hidden away from everyone and only allowed himself to think of on very few occasions, but even if that hope would never be fulfilled, he needed closure. Yes, the closure would definitely be good. Before he could change his mind, he answered, "Yes. I can't promise anything, but I will try my best."
Relief washed over Ma and Jaspert's faces. Tears welled up in her eyes as Jaspert clapped him on the shoulder and said, "Thank you, from both of us."
Alek nodded at the both of them. This was so much to take in. He had to be back to Austria in the morning, and he didn't want to keep Klopp waiting. "If you'll excuse me, I really should be going now. Thank you both for visiting with me, and I hope to see you again soon."
Jaspert hopped up, "Oh, I'll see you out."
As they made their way out of the room, Ma held onto Alek's hand and said, "Alek, please bring her home."
He nodded and squeezed her hand, "I'll try, Ma. I promise." He kissed her cheek and smiled. "Please try to feel better."
She winked again. "I can't make any promises, but I'll do my best."
Jaspert and Alek made their way back down the stairs and into the kitchen. Jaspert grabbed a bundle of papers from the table. "Alek, this is everything we know about Tikal. We think that Deryn may have joined a secret society of boffins that have been studying the quetzal down there." He pulled a few loose papers from the top. It looked like he had quite a bit of information there.
"Where did you get all this?" Alek asked inquisitively.
Jaspert shook his head. "Here and there. Remember your old friend Dr. Barlow? We wrote to her as well as you, and she sent us most of this. The other bits came from the library. The lady boffin thinks it might be a society that calls themselves Dextera Domini-"
"The Right Hand of God," Alek said quietly. He had heard the phrase before, but never of this society.
"Right," Jaspert continued. "As much as the boffin looks like she may be right, and we do want you to find Deryn, we hope she isn't with them."
A puzzled look came over Alek's face. "Why is that?"
"Because they're said to do evil, dark sorts of fabrications. Unspeakable things not even Dr. Barlow was sure about. As much as we don't want Deryn to be mixed up in that sort of crowd, I have a feeling she is."
Alek thought for a moment. It would make some sense: Deryn saying she wanted to leave because she wanted to study wild beasties and such. And the all the vague answers she had given him the night she left, and the cryptic manner of the letter. But the reason as to why was still unknown.
Jaspert went door and opened. "Thanks again," Jaspert said. "Alek, even if you and Deryn don't work out..." Alek swallowed. He hated thinking of that, but it was more than likely true, whether or not he wanted to believe it. Jaspert continued, "I know what happened with Deryn, and I know you were hurt, but it really, really means a lot to Ma and me that you stayed in contact with us, even after Deryn told you not to. Especially Ma, she considers you her own son."
Alek nodded. "And she is like a second mother to me, and you like the brother I never had," he said with a smile. "Thank you. I promise I will try my very hardest to find your sister."
The two shook hands as Alek went out the door and into the carriage that had been waiting for him. He released Bovril from his cage and fed him the promised piece of shortbread, to the creature's immense delight. As they rode away, he looked out the window.
Oh, Deryn, he said thought to himself. What have you gotten yourself into?