After the drying process, the preservatives and the crude candle wedged between the fingers, the hand barely looked human. To Barney, it looked as if it had been cut from some shrivelled goblin, but he could sharply recall chopping it from the hanged corpse.
“Funny thing,” he said to Eric as they shivered against the low wall circling the manor. “The other hand had been cut off too.”
Eric snorted as he tried to light the candle, “Who cares as long as it works.”
The candle lit. The two thieves dashed across the garden. The kitchen lock gave quickly and they slipped inside, past a maid slumped asleep by her washing.
But in the hallway they paused. Barney felt his legs grow leaden. Before him Eric crumbled to the floor, snoring. With a thud, Barney joined him.

Behind another stretch of wall, Jake waited. His Hand of Glory burned brightly, a mirror image of Barney’s. He smiled – its magic would be working now. He was glad that he’d reached the corpse early enough to claim the left and more effective hand.