She pointed upward and spoke something in a strange language. A single leaf spiraled from a high branch of an old oak. It drifted slowly, as though it were falling through water instead of air. “Your audience with Arthur Spiderwick will last as long as it takes that leaf to fall to the ground.”
Jared looked up toward where she pointed. As slowly as the leaf was moving, it still seemed too fast. “What if that isn’t enough time?”
She smiled coldly. “Time is something that neither of us has the luxury of anymore, Jared Grace.”
“What should I care for one mortal?” She turned toward the trees. “Do you know how many of my own people have been lost? How many dwarves—old as the stones beneath our feet—are no more?”