Red puffs out her cheeks and lets out a heavy breath that indicates this is going to be a tough one.
"Do fish have feathers?" I ask no-one in particular.
It doesn't sound right at all, like saying birds have scales, but I don't want to anger the zombie giant by pointing out her stupidity. I seem to be in enough trouble already.
"For the purposes of an act of penance," the giant says, "I think we can say 'yes.'"
"'Penants'?" I ask.
Little flags? What do they have to do with anything?
"You really aren't sorry about anything at all, are you?" the giant most definitely does not ask me.
She's wrong. I am sorry. I'm sorry I'm stuck in this mess.
"Come along, Plumtree," says Red. "I'll take you where you need to be."
There's a small popping sound and I turn to look at what it was. Instead of the barrel-like red-scaled woman, there's now a small, winged, red-scaled lizard.
"Don't look at me like that," it says with Red's voice. "I'm strong enough to carry you."
Considering it or she did something with a river just now, I suppose it or she is.
"It's not that," I lie. "I'm just making sure I understood what you meant. You're going to take me to a flying fish?"
Red coughs. "Well, maybe not that far. If the Salmon has ever flown, it wasn't on purpose."
"Salmon?" I ask weakly.
"You know, the fella I sent you to last time. I can take you myself now and I may as well find out what stupid instructions he gave you for you to find yourself here, doing penance for-"
"Killing her friend elf," the giant interrupts.
Red falls silent and then clears her throat. "Yes. Yes. You'd said that. Are you quite sure about that?"
"Well, she's never been able to say where the elf is," the giant says defensively.
Red breathes in through her teeth. I find myself wondering how much this is going to cost, even though I didn't realise this was something I was going to get charged for.
"Oh, come on," says Red. "The poor girl has clearly lost what wits she did have between the last time I saw her and now. How can you expect her to know where she lost her friend. Or buried a body."
If the zombie giant has a change of heart, or even expression, it's hidden by the way the rotting flesh of her face hangs.
"Very well. Come along, Plumtree," Red says and flies up to shoulder height. "I'm going to have to grab your shoulder. Are you ready?"
"Whatever," I say.
The lizard grabs my left shoulder and the pricking of small claws through clothing and skin burns. Watching the ground disappear below me as I'm hung from those same small claws is an agony that makes me scream.
I may be delirious but I think I see the giant smile and nod. "Good. Good."