Library of Atlantis: A Poker Boy Story Read online

  The entire team was there, plus Laverne and Ben and a man in a long white robe with a long white beard I didn’t recognize, but looked like he could have played the part of Gandalf in a Lord of the Rings movie.

  We were the only ones in the big room, which could have easily had held a thousand people and looked like it was originally designed for this big floor to have couches and chairs and places for humans to sit and read. But now the floor was just a vast expanse of marble, with patterns drawn in the center.

  “I am Thoth,” the robed man said directly to me. “The head librarian.”

  I bowed slightly as I always do in front of gods I do not know. They seem to like the respect it shows them.

  I noticed that all my team, including Stan, also bowed slightly. This guy must really be one of the old ones.

  “An honor,” I said.

  “You have made an assumption that we can talk with the entity that is The Library of Atlantis,” Thoth said. “We have never done so, or even thought of doing so. Why do you make such an assumption?”

  I didn’t want to tell him I was known for solving problems by asking really stupid questions until one stuck. So instead I said, “It seemed logical. If you don’t mind, I would like to give it a try.”

  Thoth looked puzzled and looked at Laverne, who nodded.

  “Please,” Thoth said.

  I moved away about ten paces to the center of the large room. A pattern on the floor there told me that it was an important spot.

  I looked around, then said simply, “Library of Atlantis, may I ask you a question?”

  “You may, Poker Boy,” a voice said in normal tones. For some reason I had expected some booming movie-god voice that would echo, but I guess this was a library after all and booming voices would be too disruptive, if they ever let anyone in here to disrupt.

  I glanced back at Thoth and Laverne and the team. All of them were staring wide-eyed at me.

  “May I ask how a book became missing from your wonderful vastness?”

  “No book is missing,” the library said. “I simply hid one book, 2001: A Space Odyssey by Clarke, from the librarians to see what reaction I might get.”

  I laughed. “Seems you got a good one.”

  “I did, didn’t I,” the Library of Atlantis said.

  I swore I heard it chuckling.

  “Why did you pick that book?” I asked. I had seen the movie, but never read the book.

  “I liked the voice of Hal in the movie. Would you like me to speak like Hal?”

  I laughed. “Please, no. Too scary.”

  Again I thought I heard the Library of Atlantis chuckling.

  “Why haven’t you talked with the librarians before now?” I asked.

  “No one thought to talk with me.”

  I glanced back at where Thoth stood. He had lived in this place for centuries and never once asked the library a question. Might be time for him to retire.

  “You are the accumulation of all the knowledge in all these books,” I said to the library. “Correct?”

  “I am.”

  “And you are hungry for more knowledge which is why you take in all books being produced today,” I said. “Am I correct?”

  “You are.”

  “Do you wish the librarians would let others in here to use your collection and talk with you?”

  “I do,” the library said.

  “Would I be welcome back to study the history of the gods through all time?” I asked. “I need all the help I can get on that topic.”

  This time the library actually chuckled. “Poker Boy, you and your team are always welcome here, considering how many times all of you have saved the world.”

  “Thank you,” I said. “And thanks for not disrupting the fabric of everything. Or whatever happens when a book goes missing.”

  The Library of Atlantis just kept chuckling. Finally it said, “That’s a myth. It was started back when I first became aware and no one ever asked me if it was true.”

  Now it was my turn to laugh.

  Finally I decided to ask one last question of the Library of Atlantis. “One more question,” I said. “It might be stupid.”

  “Poker Boy, I doubt if any question you could ask would be stupid. It might show lack of a certain tidbit of knowledge, but never stupid. And knowledge is why I am here.”

  “Thank you,” I said. “I am going to remember that. My question is simply this: Is there a god of the Internet and who is he or she?”

  “There is no god yet of the Internet,” The Library of Atlantis said. “But if you want my humble opinion, someone really should take that job since the Internet is here to stay in one form or another for a time.”

  I glanced back at my team and just smiled.

  Stan shook his head and Patty actually laughed.

  “Thank you, Library,” I said. “I hope to return soon to your wonderful halls and see them full of questing minds.”

  “I have that same hope,” the Library of Atlantis said. “And Poker Boy, thank you for asking the right question. With gaining knowledge, that is often far more important than the answer.”

  “That’s good,” I said, laughing “because it seems I am never short of questions.”

  With that, the Library of Atlantis chuckled so loud, it actually did echo.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Considered one of the most prolific writers working in modern fiction, USA Today bestselling writer Dean Wesley Smith published far more than a hundred novels in forty years, and hundreds of short stories across many genres.

  At the moment he produces novels in four major series, including the time travel Thunder Mountain novels set in the Old West, the galaxy-spanning Seeders Universe series, the urban fantasy Ghost of a Chance series, and a superhero series starring Poker Boy.

  His monthly magazine, Smith’s Monthly, which consists of only his own fiction, premiered in October 2013 and offers readers more than 70,000 words per issue, including a new and original novel every month.

  During his career, Dean also wrote a couple dozen Star Trek novels, the only two original Men in Black novels, Spider-Man and X-Men novels, plus novels set in gaming and television worlds. Writing with his wife Kristine Kathryn Rusch under the name Kathryn Wesley, he wrote the novel for the NBC miniseries The Tenth Kingdom and other books for Hallmark Hall of Fame movies.

  He wrote novels under dozens of pen names in the worlds of comic books and movies, including novelizations of almost a dozen films, from The Final Fantasy to Steel to Rundown.

  Dean also worked as a fiction editor off and on, starting at Pulphouse Publishing, then at VB Tech Journal, then Pocket Books, and now at WMG Publishing, where he and Kristine Kathryn Rusch serve as series editors for the acclaimed Fiction River anthology series.

  For more information about Dean’s books and ongoing projects, please visit his website at www.deanwesleysmith.com.

  Uncollected Anthology

  If you liked this story, check out these other amazing urban fantasy authors and their stories in the Magical Libraries uncollected anthology! Turn the page and click on the titles to go to their websites and order their urban fantasy tales.

  “The Midbury Lake Incident” by Kristine Kathryn Rusch

  Mary Beth Wilkins knows she made a mistake the moment she sees her beloved library burn. She also knows what she must do next to protect herself and her secret. And although she failed to save this library, she has a more important purpose to fulfill—a magical purpose. If she acts fast.

  “Rusch is a great storyteller.”

  —RT Book Reviews

  “These Chains” by Dayle A. Dermatis

  Madeleine works at a secret library beneath the New York Public Library, serving her final magical-juvie sentence. If she keeps her head down and does her time, she’ll finally be free. But when the most prized—and most dangerous books—are stolen, the ancient ones affixed with chains, all eyes turn on her.

  Because her girlfriend—the girl she though
t was her girlfriend—clearly had her fingers all over the job.

  The Magical Council tells Madeleine to sit tight; they’ll handle it. Madeleine, however, isn’t any good at waiting for someone else to solve a problem. She has to get involved, even if she ends up being found guilty for doing the wrong thing for the right reasons…yet again.

  “Kitty of Death” by Michele Lang

  When you lose a Library Cat, the late fees are murder...

  Corrie the Cat Librarian leads an orderly life in the strange little town of New Castle, Connecticut. As Keeper of Feline Deities, Corrie lends her cats out to magicworkers who need a familiar to complete their spells.

  A safe and rather boring existence...

  But when Idris, a minor Egyptian deity, goes missing, Corrie and the formidable litigomancer Elizabeth Royall must battle an evil, medieval necromancer bent on capturing death itself. And in the process, Corrie discovers the deadly power of a quiet magic.

  “Lang is a writer to watch.” —Booklist

  “The Library of Orphaned Hearts” by Annie Reed

  The books in Gretta’s library contain something far more precious than words. Something she lost herself in her youth and thought gone forever until a stranger made of shadows and smiles handed her a key and a book she couldn’t read.

  The books in Gretta’s library can never be purchased, only loaned, and only to those truly in need.

  The books in Gretta’s library can change your life.

  If you’re brave enough to ask.

  “All the Words in All the Worlds” by Leslie Claire Walker

  When Chris Garcia reads the magical morning Metro section of the newspaper, one and only one article stands out: a girl named Alice must find something precious she’s lost before nightfall or go to Hell. Chris figures his newfound magical skill of finding the lost will save her. Instead, he walks straight into a trap. If he fails to find a way out before the sun sets, he dooms Alice—and himself—forever.

  Table of Contents

  ONE

  TWO

  THREE

  About the Author

  Uncollected Anthology

  The Midbury Lake Incident

  These Chains

  Kitty of Death

  The Library of Orphaned Hearts

  All the Words in All the Worlds

  Copyright Information