Meanwhile Eamon found Cole on top of the ski lodge, scowling as he faced the picturesque winter landscape below him. He had his hoodie pulled up over his head, his wings spread out over the snowy roof. The moonless starry sky was glittering brightly over the still landscape. It was eerily quiet, Eamon's flapping wings the only noise in the peaceful silence.

Eamon landed beside Cole, furling his wings as he sat beside him. "It smell like fish to you or something?" he asked good-naturedly, trying to cajole him into a better mood. "I see no reason why a frown should rest upon this beautiful landscape."

"You know why I'm sulking," Cole said back, about to toss him another glare when he realized he would only persist in frowning, so he dropped the scowl and sighed heavily. "Leave me alone, Eamon. I don't need a stupid pep talk or whatever."

"I'm not here to talk," Eamon said, slowly reaching for something beside him. "I'm here to have a snowball fight. Wanna throw snowballs at that mountain over there? I wanna see who throws the farthest, you or me."

Cole looked at him as if he had just asked him to drive a pink Barbie car. "You wanna throw snow at a faraway mountain? Are you serious?"

Eamon shrugged. "Why not? We're both on a roof. It's pretty high up here. There's plenty of snow around us. And that mountain is directly in front of us. It's the perfect way to blow off some steam."

Cole seemed to think about it for a moment, conflicted between thinking this was a stupid idea and agreeing to Eamon's suggestion.

None of the irangels knew it, but Eamon had an ability none of the irangels were aware of, not even Tori. Eamon was a pathokinetic with the ability to change other people's emotions and alter the way they feel. Meaning, he could change other people's emotions just from them being around him. That was why Cole was susceptible to having his emotions change from bitter to better from Eamon's influence. Eamon himself wasn't aware of it since it wasn't an ability as easily shown off like telekinetic and shapeshifter abilities, but he did feel like some sort of a counselor to some of the irangels, particularly Cole and Justin. Had he known about his own ability, his ego would probably have been strummed up to high skies and he wouldn't be as humble as he was now.

Eamon saw the slight indecision in Cole's eyes before Cole gave in and said, "Sure, why not. I can pretend the mountain is Tori and smack it hard into her face." He scooped some snow up into a ball and threw it as hard as he could. It smacked right into a tree at the foot of the mountain.

Eamon readied the snowball he was forming and threw it. It fell just a few meters from the ski lodge. Cole smirked and got another snowball ready, aiming it higher. Eamon threw as well, his snowball smacking into Cole's midway in the air. The two continued to throw snowballs, getting into the fun activity. Cole started throwing it in the air and using his wings to smack it like a tennis racket, trying to beat Eamon who was better at it than he was.

It was long after nightfall when Justin came out to call them in. Cole's spirits lifted, he dove right into a warm bowl of soup and went to bed in a good mood. Eamon grinned at Justin, who looked relieved. "Whatever you're doing, thank you," he told Eamon appreciatively.

Eamon smiled unpretentiously as he rinsed the last of the dishes in the sink. "Somebody's gotta keep an eye out on you guys. Might as well be me," he said, folding the dish rag. His dark, beautiful eyes looked at Justin curiously. "You know, Justin, I don't think Tori made the right – "

"I don't want to talk about it right now," Justin interrupted. "Also, Nate told me we're headed home tomorrow." Justin stopped at the mention of the word 'home', startled to realize that he'd thought of the glass building as his home now.

An uncomfortable, stagnant pause seemed to stretch on for eons before Eamon put the neatly folded dish rag on the kitchen countertop and murmured sarcastically, "Good to know you think of our prison as 'home'." He left the room, thinking, I can't believe this guy.

Justin stood alone for a few moments, his thoughts awhirl. The glass building did feel like home to him; it was a safe haven after the prison life he'd been through. Tori was his salvation from more long years in prison, more endless minutes of a life without light. Despite being a prisoner in the glass building, Justin felt willing to stay prisoner if it meant being with Tori, the light that brought him out of the darkness. He didn't want to remain in the darkness, wanting to surround himself in the light. Tori was his light, the light of his dark life and the angel in Nate's dreams.

She was the woman he had hopelessly fallen in love with.

Justin sighed, knowing Tori loved Nate but was content with her feeling something for him too, even if it wasn't the same he felt for her. That was enough for Justin.

________________

As they prepared to head back to the glass building the following morning, Nate made an effort to get to know each irangel and learn more about them. He was surprised to learn Velo was a merman.

"I was wondering why Keith carried you the way here and why you never showed your wings," said Nate, looking at Velo as he relaxed in his merman form in the hot tub. "That's incredible. This makes you the first merman on Earth."

Velo grinned. Justin thought it was the first time he saw Velo truly smile without any deviousness in it, just a pure happy smile. Velo had always come across as a totally different kettle of fish. He didn't have Nate's gentle look or Cole's youthful appearance, nor did he have Justin's loyalty, Camdren's earnestness, Elisa's go-getter attitude, Keith's inquisitiveness, nor Eamon's way of assessing things.

To put it plainly, Velo was a psychopath. He had no remorse, was antisocial, and cared not for other people. He felt his criminal actions were justified and felt no remorse for what he'd done. In his former human life, he had caused more violence than any of the irangels had in their former criminal lives. He felt absolutely nothing when he shot victims and burned buildings with people still inside; he was without empathy. As an irangel, he quietly schemed, indifferent to his new life, yet somewhat content. Like a fire that'd been put out, the smoldered embers of Velo's cruelty lay just within reach, waiting to be ignited beneath the ashes of a dark fiery past.

Eamon's sociopathic traits defined him as a guy who was preoccupied with his own attractiveness and his own self-importance. He felt entitled, was easily envious especially when rivaled with his looks, can be conceited at times, and always got what he wanted. Though he had humbled down a few notches, the arrogance rested just beneath the surface, ready to erupt like slow rising magma. Eamon acts tough, but he has his good moments, Justin thought at the same time Nate thought, He seems like a cool guy. Watching out for the others, joining us in skiing, sled-riding, and such. Though he does seem full of himself at times.

Elisa was a bit of a narcissist, especially in her former human life. She had the tendency to exploit others and was all about power play until she became an irangel. Though she still had that aspect of her that assumed she was special, thus causing her to live in a fantasy world with Camdren, it's like her conceitedness was more amplified while Eamon's conceitedness had lowered somewhat. With Camdren providing all her needs and showering her with admiration, she felt perfectly content and lived a glamorized fantasy world, taking the whole prisoner thing pretty well. Nate could totally picture Camdren and Elisa getting married someday.

What Nate couldn't picture was Cole ever being nice to Tori. He seemed subdued only when Eamon was around to make sure he didn't go off the rails, but when Eamon wasn't around, he persisted being hateful towards Tori. At least I don't have to constantly ask Eamon to check on Cole; he seems to do that on his own, Nate thought, keeping a distance from Cole.

His attention turned towards Justin, who always had his eyes fixed on Tori as though she was an expensive car he really wanted but couldn't afford. He wondered why he had this constant look of admiration about him, eventually coming to realize it was because he was in love with Tori. At least he has the courtesy to respect my relationship with Tori, Nate thought.

Velo maintained a narcissistic approach and was often cold and emotionless, though Nate did manage to get a few genuine smiles out of him. Velo was perhaps the only one that remained a criminal, not changing in the slightest from his former human life. Elisa had a lower degree of narcissism, but Nate thought she didn't stray far from the tree either.

While Nate was evaluating the irangels, Cole was fuming and directing all his hate towards Tori. Last night's good mood immediately died down the moment he went downstairs from the loft and saw Tori and Nate acting all lovey-dovey, their blissful happiness spoiling Cole's good morning. He hated seeing Tori happy with Nate. Cole was unable to have a happy life of his own, locked as a prisoner in a glass building, his future uncertain, his past forever taken away. It seemed like everyone was happy except him.

Cole's bitter thoughts fueled his hate as he kicked at the snow, frustrated with his irangel life. The others were laughing and talking merrily amongst themselves. Even Velo was having a good time. Despite Tori no longer seeking him out, Justin liked Nate and felt a mutual camaraderie with him. Nate was the one who carried Velo for the flight back to the glass building. Back to prison, Cole thought glumly.

As they flew, Cole hung back, not wishing to be near the others. He pulled his coat jacket closer to himself, unaffected by the cold, but the familiar action comforted him a little, and he sought whatever comfort he could out of the situation he was in.

He pushed down the cuff of his sleeve, eyeing the electro-cuff with revulsion. Screw this, he thought, furtively attempting to take it off. His wrist and arm muscles pulsed lightly, confusing him as he watched a tiny spark of blue electricity run through the cuff, now released.

Cole stared in astonishment. Tori had said the cuffs would act as a mini-bomb if the irangels did as much as try to take it off, yet Cole hadn't been affected in the slightest. In fact, he had taken it off quite successfully and it didn't do anything but act like a normal bracelet cuff.

Cole quickly put it back on to make sure nobody noticed he'd taken it off. Everyone's attention, however, was elsewhere. Puzzled, Cole kept his discovery to himself, not even trusting Justin with it. He decided to figure out its mystery later when he was alone. His mind pondered over it, occupying his thoughts as he continued his way with the rest of the flock.

Back in the glass building, the irangels warmed up with mugs of hot chocolate. Cole accepted one from Camdren, still surprised from earlier. As they started watching a movie in the living room, Cole waited until Tori and the irangels were distracted before sneaking into Tori's office.

There, he started looking through her things. While reading her notes, Cole learned the cuffs were just electroshock devices, same as the one she liked to threaten to shock them with. They stun, not kill, Cole realized. And I'm somehow immune to it.

He decided to shock himself just to test and see for himself, recalling what had happened earlier at the police station. If I knock myself out and get caught, oh well. He pressed the button and electroshocked himself, keeping his eyes open so he could see what was going on.

Like at the police station, the electricity didn't faze him; in fact, Cole seemed to absorb it. Small blue shocks of electricity radiated from Cole, making him let go of the button and drop the electroshock device. The electricity vanished, but Cole's astonishment didn't vanish. It increased tenfold, making him realize he held an advantage over other irangels.

Because he was the only irangel unaffected by the electro-cuffs, Cole decided he could do whatever he wanted now. The thing he wanted most was for Tori to suffer the way he did, and in order to do that, he would take away her happiness. So be it, he thought firmly. Tori had taken Lena away from him, so he would take Nate away from her.

Cole paced around the room as he began plotting to murder Nate. Having no idea how to go about it, he decided to see what Nate was doing. He stood quietly, peeking in the doorway to his room. He saw Nate alone in the room, organizing some stuff on the bed. There was a backpack and camera gear on the desk that caught Cole's attention. Knowing Nate loved to take pictures with his camera, Cole surreptitiously took it so that he would think he left it at the log cabin, when in reality it was Cole who took it. At this point, Cole thought of Nate as nothing more than an objective to take that happy smile off Tori's face, to make her cry and suffer like he did when she took away his human life.

After successfully hiding Nate's camera inside one of his boots and covering it with a sock, Cole went to his own room and pretended to be busy listening to music, keeping his earbuds on while the iPod was silent. His heart jumped when he heard Nate say, "Hey, have you seen my camera? I was sure it was in my camera bag, but now it's gone."

"Didn't you bring it with you to Angel Resort?" Cole heard Tori say in response, hearing shuffling noises in the background as Tori helped Nate search for his camera.

Nate shook his head, saying, "No, we used a different camera at Angel Resort. I want to get a few pictures off my old camera, but I can't find it anywhere. I think I left it at the log cabin."

Cole heard him start to put some stuff in a backpack and zip it up. He heard Tori say with concern in her voice, "Are you leaving?"

Cole heard Nate kiss her, heard him say, "I'll be right back, angel." He heard more kissing, then the sound of Nate's gentle footsteps leaving the room.

It's time, Cole thought. He waited until Nate left the glass building before going out into the hallway, having donned his winter clothes to shield himself from the elements. The others were distracted, eating while watching a movie.

Justin and Tori walked into Tori's office just as Cole was about to swing past the living room. Tori was talking about dinner and was too busy talking to notice Cole, but Justin was half listening and half looking around, as if sensing Cole nearby.

Cole knew just seeing him would be a dead giveaway that he was leaving the glass building. He carefully watched Justin's movements, trying to walk past the office door without him seeing him. Justin's body was turned slightly away from the door. Tori's attention was on something else in the room. As Cole began to quietly walk past the room, Justin chose that moment to turn fully towards the door –

And look directly at Cole.

Cole froze, not sure whether Justin would betray him, but Justin acted as if he didn't even see Cole. He casually reached for a picture frame of Tori and Nate in the Swiss mountains, saying, "So who took this picture?"

"We hired a photographer to take pictures of us while we were at the ski lodge," Tori answered, taking the picture frame from Justin and looking at it lovingly. "That was my first time skiing with Nate. I skied with my dad several times when I was younger, but that was many years ago. I had to learn how to pick back up on it when I went skiing with Nate. Nate is a natural when it comes to skiing. He really enjoys it."

Nate this, Nate that, Cole thought in annoyance while Justin thought in dissatisfaction, All she ever talks about is her Nate. Wish she would shut up about him and focus on me instead.

As Justin diverted the conversation topic back towards the original topic of dinner, Cole escaped the glass building for the second time. Justin glanced once to where Cole was, arching his head a little higher when he noticed he was gone. He figured he knew where Cole was heading and was only too glad to be a participant in removing Nate from Tori's life.