Qrow.

Chapter 77 | On Ice

Within that large black casket was a solid block of ice. It fit inside the structure perfectly, as if those metal panels were built around it. The ice wasn't what has Croc's three older brothers gawking. Through the static magic they could clearly see Lumi's body frozen in time. His skin, his hair, it was all still perfect, as if he hadn't been dead for weeks.

Covey's voice was harsh, drowning in distaste, "Were you responsible for this? Or was this Jasper's doing?"

"Jasper didn't want to throw away a body that was capable of containing as much power as his. He did ask my permission to preserve the body, though, so I guess I'm just as responsible as him for letting him do it. Why do you care? He may have been our blood, but he wasn't one of us."

"He may have led us astray but he was still our family! We grew up together, we fought to survive together. I know he was a vile person, but for the sake of the few good memories we have of him, we can't disrespect his body like this." Covey looked to Apollo and Thursday, seeing them as distant as Croc. "Don't tell me you two are okay with this?"

"Why do you always have to play the role of morality?" Thursday responded.

"Why do you always have to play the role of a naive idiot?" He snapped back.

His younger brother's eyes flared with hurt. Covey was frustrated, angry. He didn't mean to insult Thursday like he did. He should've known better, knowing that he was as sensitive as he was. For a demon, one with such a vile past, Thursday was pretty damn soft. 

Apollo placed his hand on Covey's shoulder, "That's enough. Don't take your anger out on him. He doesn't deserve it. There is something I should tell you all about Lumi. I didn't want to before, for the sake of my own shame and the family's, but I suppose we're already well beyond that point. Our mother was a very beautiful woman. She caught the attention of several powerful demons, including Malphas, Camio, Barbas. 

I'll never understand why she allowed Beleth to take her as his wife. She... Regretted the decision, and in a moment of weakness, she had an affair with King Salome. I was the product of that affair. She quickly regretted the decision and remained faithful to Beleth from then on. Carmella knew and she kept me silent by blackmailing me with your lives."

"I suppose that means she destroyed the lives of two of her brothers, then." Croc responded.

"How can you be so calm about it?" He asked.

"There was a part of me that always knew. You were different than us. Not in a bad way, but you've always had a way about you that was elegant. Us, we're," He laughed, reflecting on one of Paris and Micah's conversations, "We're heathens."

"You're still our brother. We love you just the same, even if you're only half our blood." Thursday said optimistically.

"There's... More. It gets worse. When I finally did threaten to break my silence, Carmella placed a curse on our mother while she was pregnant with Cromwell. It made it so she would die giving birth. She knew, and she still decided to continue the pregnancy. In fact, she saw it as her way out. Death was the only way she could escape Beleth. 

In truth, Lumi was his actual first born. Meaning, he was the one to inherit his corruption. Whether Lumi knew of my secret or not, I'm not sure. However, after his death, I discovered his. He was controlling our thought process. For as long as he lived, he was implanting ideas in our mind to keep us on the path of sin. Cromwell unintentionally absorbed some of Carmella's magic while in the womb. It made it so he was invulnerable to mind control. That is why Lumi hated him so much. He couldn't control him."

"You mean to tell us that all of the lives we took were because Lumi was forcing us to?" Covey pondered, "We were looked at as some of the strongest demons in the underground, and yet, we were so easily manipulated. It feels like our strength was just an illusion."