“Now I want you to picture a fire. There’s one burning in the fireplace in this room.”

Brother Qown did.

He felt a rushing sensation and found himself standing near the end of the table, looking at Relos Var sitting next to … himself. All the colors looked wrong. Brother Qown appeared warm red, the table looked colder, and Relos Var shone with a great white-hot fire.

He gasped, dropped the stone, and opened his eyes.

“What—”

“Worldhearth, as you may have just surmised,” said Relos Var, “allows you to see clairvoyantly, using fire as the focus point. It takes time to master the ability and longer still to learn how to use it to spy on others. Yet since there is no fire in existence immune to divination, anyone—mortal or god—who is standing next to flame is vulnerable. The trick is finding them.”

“I thought you could use the Name of All Things to spy on people.”

“You’d think that, wouldn’t you? But the Name of All Things just answers questions. A powerful ability, but you must know the specific question to ask. The answers too will be literal. If I asked if you had eaten this morning, it would provide a yes-or-no answer. That isn’t helpful if what I should have asked is who ate breakfast with you. This is much more flexible in its use, or at least, has different restrictions.”

Brother Qown reached for the stone. “I see. And I assume you want me to write down what the people I spy on say to each other.”

“As well as any other details you think are pertinent. I know you’re more than up for the task. You have always had a keen eye for detail.”

Brother Qown nodded. It’s not like he had a choice, if he hoped to throw off the gaesh and help Janel. He looked at the stone again. “Do you have a list of ‘targets’?”

“Let’s not jump ahead. What I want you to do right now is concentrate on learning to use the stone. It can be tricky to find the person you’re looking for and difficult to find a person who is thousands of miles away. The stone will allow you to hop from one fire to the next, but it takes practice to master. Best you start now.” Relos Var paused. “I’ll have someone bring in some food for you and hot tea. You’ll also want to make yourself take regular breaks. It’s easy to become so caught up in the stone you forget what’s happening to your physical body.”

“Is that what happened to the last person who used this?” Brother Qown asked.