Endymion Spring

A boy in an Oxford library touches a strange, centuries-old chest that is covered in images of mythical beasts, and can only be opened when the fangs of its serpent's-head clasp taste blood. As he feels the prick of the book, words begin to appear on the page--words no one but the boy can see.

IN THE DEAD of night, a cloaked figure drags a heavy box through snowcovered streets. The chest can only be opened when the fangs of its serpent's-head clasp taste blood.
Centuries later, in an Oxford library, a boy touches a strange book and feels something pierce his finger. The volume is wordless, but fine veins run through its pages, and they seem to quiver, as if alive. Words begin to appear in the book--words only the boy can see.