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Aurélia had planned it in anticipation of Irwin’s return but also to discuss further her plan to summon Lithael’s ghost without the elders present. Now that she knew about Mark, she would have to discuss him as well. Something that annoyed her even more than she usually was. Aurélia, Irwin, Ricardo, Rosalia, Mea, and Priscilla stood up and went to the family dinner table that happened to be in the next room. Mark hesitated for a moment but Aurélia reassured him that he was also invited. He seemed nervous but Irwin pulled him by the hands as motivation. 

The dinner room they were all going into was one of three, the smallest one. But it was big enough to welcome a party of fifteen. The long table was set for seven: a splendid set of china plates, shiny silverware, crystal glasses, beautifully folded napkins that matched the table cloth, expensive-looking vases filled with flowers from the gardens, and lit candles on silver candlesticks. Mark was impressed was the setup. Despite him being wealthy, he never had a family dinner such as the one he was about to participate in. Mostly because, other than his father, Mark knew few of his family members and hardly spend time with them. The whole scene made him a bit sad but really, he was glad to be with his best friend’s family. Ghosts and werewolves notwithstanding. Irwin saw his friend hesitating, unsure of where he should sit. Irwin took his hand and led him to the south head of the table and pushed him down on the chair. 

Aurélia looked at what her brother did with a frozen stare. Mark was not sure why she was looking at him that way. Irwin casually told him that the chair he was sitting on belong to his dead brother, Lithael. Of course, Mark stood up immediately so he wouldn’t offend anyone. But Irwin insisted, throwing a hard stare at Aurélia. Aurélia didn’t say anything and went to sit where her father would sit, at the north head. Even though the two were relatively far from each other, Mark still could feel heavy eyes of Aurélia on him. Irwin flashed a smirk and sat right next to his friend. 

As soon as everyone was sited, the butlers came into the dining room with trays filled with bottles of water, wine, and freshly pressed orange and grapefruit juice. First came Stephane and Diallo with the beverages. They served everyone at the table exactly what they wanted. Aurélia was a bit difficult and requested beer, which Diallo hurried back and served. Then came Eric and Nicolas with the appetizers and freshly arranged salads. As they were serving, Aurélia started to speak about Lithael. Everyone was a bit reluctant to speak about him in front of Mark because they were afraid to say anything he had no business hearing. But in truth, Aurélia had a good reason to let Mark stay. Especially after discovering that Mark was a potential medium. Having a medium during a ghost summoning session would increase her chances to succeed. And if her father had done something to prevent her or any one of her family from communicating with Lithael, as she suspected, Mark could be the only one capable of receiving Lithael’s message. Her reasoning was not foolproof but, she was desperate enough to try anything. She wanted the odds to tip in her favor. Problem was, Mark was a newbie; if he was a medium. The only way to find out was to give him a crash course and then test him.  Mark was not very optimistic about Aurélia’s plan. Sure, Mark wanted to know everything about magic. But it was not what he had envisioned when he followed Irwin to France. He wanted to cast spells or shoot lightning out of his fingers. Talking to ghosts was not a very glamorous superpower to him. Irwin saw how miserable his friend seemed to be; just pure amusement.

“So, if I get it right, being a medium is not even remotely special. Magi, witches, regular humans, anyone can see and talk to ghosts in the right circumstances. ” Mark finally said.

“I wouldn’t exactly say, anyone…” Aurélia corrected.

“That’s not what Aurélia is saying” added Irwin. “The only reason magic practitioners can see ghosts or spirits is because we summoned them in the first place. It bids us to them, and only under those conditions, we can communicate with them. The reason others can see through the veil is that the ghosts want to be seen by them or they are about to die. 

For example, Sikhumbuzo can see some ghosts because they belong to his past victims, they haunt him until they find the strength to move on. It’s part of the lycanthropy condition.”

“So, he already knows about Sik.” Interrupted Aurélia.

“Yes I do!” responded Mark, throwing a dirty look at Irwin. “And may I say, I hate you, Irwin. If he eats me, it is your fault.”

Rosalia started laughing but suddenly stop when Ricardo looked at her with an angry stare. Usually, when she laughed at a guy’s joke, it meant that she liked him. Which wasn’t okay with Ricardo because he didn’t really like Mark; that and he was a bit too old for her. Priscilla didn’t care about what her brother thought so she kept on laughing and it began to feel awkward for everyone present. 

Rosalia was quick to catch on and continued to explain the characteristics of a medium to Mark to diffuse the tension.

“A medium, however, can see spirits whenever and wherever they are. He or she recognizes a ghost and can talk to it even if it doesn’t want to be seen. A very skilled medium can attract spirits and receive messages from them from a fair distance. Usually, ghosts avoid hurting a medium because they are the only ones who can assist them with their unfinished business and help them move on to their next life. That is partially why I believe you are indeed a medium. My uncle Anthon wanted to speak to you instead of hurting you as he would usually do to strangers. The question is: what was it he wanted you to help us with? What’s so special about the 13th family?”

“I don’t know you guys.” Mark chose to lie until he could speak to Irwin privately. “He barely said anything before he vanished. And I was in the process of fainting if you remember? It wasn’t my most glamorous moment, unfortunately. Besides, I didn’t know I was a medium until… I don’t know, it was Irwin who said the word?” 

Ricardo made a face to indicate that it was him. “I’m not even sure I am one. I never had an experience like that… Well, maybe once.

Mark was remembering the strange incident at his boarding school in London when he was fifteen. He tried to explain it as much as he could without sounding like a complete amateur, which he was. Irwin had heard the story once before a long time ago, but he never concluded that his friend might be a medium. Putting everything together now made some sense. The ghost of that boy who killed himself in that dorm room was trying to make contact but Mark wasn’t even trying to listen. It had probably murdered that other boy, Henry Scotsman, in other to get Mark’s attention but had failed. 

What cliqued more with Irwin was the fact that his uncle had left the second floor of the Rosemary Manor to go get Mark all the way down to the ground floor, which, never happened before. Plus, Mark had sensed that the manor was haunted before they got inside. Irwin didn’t pay attention to any of that the previous day when they got in but, Mark’s behavior had been of a bothered medium. Which made Mark a very perceptive one, potentially very talented. He just needed to embrace his talent. Aurélia had realized that, as well as Ricardo and his sisters. Many things had to be done before the twin fathers returned: Aurélia had to summon Lithael’s ghost and Mark had to figure out what Anthon wanted from him. And for that, he had to go back to the Rosemary manor and make contact. He also had to read that 49th volume of the history of the great families and try to remember which page it was open on. It was a big book, Mark wasn’t looking forward to it. Fortunately, Irwin was there to help and explain to him the basics to accelerate the process. Then, after all that, they both had to regroup with Aurélia and the others to perform the summoning ritual. And, Irwin had to figure out why his father had killed Leslie, Lithael’s lover. A lot to do. Ricardo informed everyone that Samael’s flight was arriving in the evening. Which gave everyone the whole afternoon to be done with everything. So they cut their meal short.