I shouldn’t have been surprised. I already knew he was a biter.

“Just exactly what should we call you?” Carolan chewed thoughtfully while he studied me.

“Yes.” ClanFintan tilted his head so he could study my face. “You said in your world you were called…” He hesitated, thinking “Shannon Parker.” He made the name sound beautiful and exotic. I wished momentarily that we could throw caution to the clichйd wind, and he could call me by my real name, always.

Then I woke up. Figuratively speaking.

“Shannon is my name, but I don’t think it would be very smart for you guys to start calling me something different. Unless…” I thought I might as well ask. “Do you think we should tell the people who I really am?”

“No!” Alanna, Carolan and ClanFintan all spoke at once.

There was a momentary silence (I guess while they contemplated the horror of letting the general populace know I was me), and then Carolan cleared his throat. We looked expectantly at him.

“Um, I cannot see any good that could come of informing the people. Especially at this volatile time.” He paused and looked searchingly at Alanna. “And it is clear she is Epona’s Chosen?”

“Yes, she is the Beloved of Epona,” Alanna agreed, nodding her head vigorously.

Carolan looked relieved. “Then there is no point in upsetting the structure of the temple, and accordingly the people, by informing them of this—” he searched for words “—fortuitous change.”

ClanFintan and Alanna mumbled a series of agreements.

“Well, okay,” I said, “but Rhiannon did a lot of things I don’t agree with.”

“Good!” ClanFintan’s exclamation made us laugh.

I kissed him lightly on the cheek.

“Rhea, the people love you.” She smiled in the direction of my centaur. “And your warriors fear you, which is why they do not speak freely about Rhiannon’s habits.” Her gaze shifted back to me. “Be yourself. That will correct Rhiannon’s errors.”

That sounded good to me.

“But what do we call you?” ClanFintan asked.

“I like what Alanna calls me. Rhea. It’s not Rhiannon—it’s something that’s distinctly me—but it’s not so different that it would cause a big problem.”

They nodded assent, and we all chewed happily for a while.

“Too bad everything’s not as easily solved as that,” I succinctly said.

They mumbled yes to that, too.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t let it rest at that. I mean, if I was going to live in this world we were going to have to get rid of those vampire-things.

“Okay, Carolan…” My voice forced his attention reluctantly from his new wife. “Tell us what you know about the Fomorians.”

“They are evil incarnate.”

“No kidding?” I mean, hello, we knew that already.

He barely blinked at my interruption, and proceeded in his history-teacher lecture mode.

“They were a species that came from the far east.”

I felt ClanFintan’s startled reaction, which made me remember that the map that zapped me had shown all the land to the east of the river as centaur lands.

“Yes, before centaurs dwelt in the grassy plains.” Carolan acknowledged my husband’s chagrin, then continued, “The legends are obscure. At first there was very little contact between the people of Partholon and the Fomorians. But there seems to have been a long drought, followed by a great fire on the grasslands where the Fomorians dwelt. The fire could not be contained. The Fomorians were in peril of being incinerated, and they came to our ancestors for help. They needed to cross over the Geal River, which they said would be impossible without aid from Partholon.”

“Huh?” I gave him a confused look.

“According to legend, Fomorians must stay connected to the soil of the earth. It is to them their life’s blood, so they cannot cross running water.”

“Wait a second—they have wings. If they have to stay connected to the earth, how can they fly?”

“Excellent point.” He smiled. “There is never any reference to them actually flying. They were described as—” he cleared his throat and squinted his eyes, searching for the exact words “—gliding demons. Not flying demons. I assume their wings function like a flying squirrel’s wings. Not real, birdlike pinions, just an apparatus that helps to manipulate the wind.”