Rose looked around Lucas’ shoulder and saw the young deputy from before.

He already irked her.

She sighed, “I’ll pay for our supplies and we’ll be off.” They could take care of the shambler on the way home to appease the flapper and that look of petulance.

He nodded back to her, “We can take the long way around to Sam’s, he’ll want to check the horseshoes.”

With a nod she payed Michael; Susan and Dale, the owners; nodding to her as she handed Michael the salt for payment.

“Thanks, she mumbled.”

Michael smiled, but shut his mouth with a click, Susan glaring out the door, as if worried to see a neighbour see her boy being friendly with a witch.

Rose just waved it off, they took their supplies, and went out to their horses, strapping the bags and boxes to the saddles.

The deputy was gone it seemed.

Lucas pet her thigh as she got into her saddle,  “Best routes a straight line hon.”

Which was his polite way to say, get walking.

“But I’m sleepy,” she whined in her monotone attempt for sympathy.

His eyes sparkled with laughter, and he reached up, scooping her out of her saddle.

“Fine, but this,” she held up the bar of chocolate she had snuck into their bags, “This is mine now.”

They walked the horses not wanting to rush and seem suspicious, but even still they got the usual glares. Only folks they’d had business with were the slightest bit kind, and from them it was just a nod in passing. That was all except Sam; Lucas had known the Deep’s for a long while, even before they had met and married. Sam and Lucy Deep were as odd a pair as Rose and her Lucas. They were farriers, and though she wasn’t certain, and Lucas swore they weren’t, Rose suspected touched by the umbral like them.

Sam knew runes and had showed Lucas some basic iron casting spells that Lucas had then used to work his shadow talking into the horseshoes, it wasn’t proper ironcast but a kick from any horse wearing one of the shoes Lucas made would punch a hole in any undead, and warded the horses should they have to wade through any rivers, keeping the mirror and its umbral poisons from twisting the poor creatures into abominations.

She wished they worked on people to ward them off too, it would make the journey they had to make so much more bearable.