by M J Marstens
EVANESCENT
Liminal Academy I
M.J. Marstens
Copyright © 2019 M.J. Marstens
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise without written permission from the publisher. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or distribute it by any other means without permission.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
M.J. Marstens asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
M.J. Marstens has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party Internet Websites referred to in this publication and does not guarantee that any content on such Websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.
Designations used by companies to distinguish their products are often claimed as trademarks. All brand names and product names used in this book and on its cover are trade names, service marks, trademarks and registered trademarks of their respective owners. The publishers and the book are not associated with any productor vendor mentioned in this book. None of the companies referenced within the book have endorsed the book.
First edition
Cover design by M.J. Marstens
Edited by Kathy Landis; Whimsicalworks4u
This book is intended for readers 18+.
Contents
Title Page
Dedication
Prologue
Lessons in Punctuality and Pissing Off Others
Evan’s Scent and Shit Wizards
How the Fuck Did This Become My Life?
Mother Cock Meets Baby Jizzum
Partners in Crime and Sex
What Fresh Hell Is This?
He’s on Vacation, Like Mr. Gump
It’s on My Fucket List
Doing Human Shit
A Case of the Fire Crotch
The Orgy That Rocked the World
Her Ass Is Grass and I’m the Lawn Mower
Naughty Rhymes and Money Shots
This Is My Heaven and My Hell
It All Comes to a Goat Head
Thank You and Ackowledgements
Virgo Rising Excerpt
DEDICATION
This book is for Kathy, you amazing and whimsical woman. Thank you for all you do for me. Also, thank you, for putting, up with, my Shatner, commas and unending ellipses.
PROLOGUE
The Universe has given me form.
No longer am I just smoke and shadows.
I’m flesh and blood.
Bones and a body.
How long have I waited for my sister to be reincarnated so that I could be free? How long have I been nothing more than just a forgotten thought? A promise of balance whose job was done? I had feared that my creator and the Universe had abandoned me and my twin, but now I know that they were waiting.
Waiting to unleash us back into the world.
I stretch lazily, reveling in the feeling of being corporeal, and smile wickedly.
Ready or not, world. . .
Here.
I.
Come.
Lessons in Punctuality and Pissing Off Others
Lilith
I walk leisurely up the cobblestone path leading towards the entrance to Liminal Academy, even though I know I’m late. I suppose I could pick up the pace, but these legs are made for walking.
And that’s just what they’ll do.
Now I just need to find a certain someone to wrap them around and I’ll have completed all the goals that I have for my legs.
I’m amazed at the fluidity and strength in my long limbs. The graceful gait makes my hips swing seductively. You would think I was born with a physical body, instead of having just been given one mere minutes ago.
After waiting eons.
I know nothing of being human, but my twin remembers humanity.
And I easily can recall her memories of it.
Regardless, all liminals are required to attend my creator’s academy to learn how to live in the earthly realm harmoniously with mankind. I don’t imagine it’ll be a difficult task to take the classes, merely tedious. Three semesters, equivalent to six months of human time, is all that is necessary before I can proceed with my tasks.
And personal agenda.
I finally reach the large, arched doors and hesitate.
Do I knock?
I shrug off my indecisiveness and allow my body to disintegrate into nothingness. Now just a shadowy wisp, I slip through the cracks between the two doors and enter the academy. From my twin’s memories, I can see the school has been fashioned after the infamous Hogwarts. It’s a beautiful castle nestled in the veil between one dimension and another.
Doesn’t get any more liminal than that.
“While attending this academy, you will remain in human form and learn their mannerisms at all times,” a voice suddenly snaps from my right.
A man stands hidden in the gloom of the building’s colossal pillars, but as my shadow-self, I can easily pierce the darkness and see him.
I know this man.
I shift back into human form, making sure I’m wearing something somewhat appropriate for my first day of classes.
The man steps out of the inky shadows and into my personal space. I’m tall for a human woman, but this man is a giant. And nearly as black as the darkness from which he just came. He towers over me, appraising my bodily angrily.
“You’re late,” he growls, going with this complaint, as opposed to what I’m wearing.
I raise an eyebrow at his tone.
“We don’t hold your hand here. You are all considered human adults and are treated as such. But know that if you fail to pass all three semesters, you will retake your courses. Furthermore, being on time is not only something important to most humans, but is also a sign that you value their time.”
He pauses in his lecture to again sweep his gaze over my body. He opens his mouth to, no doubt, restart his tirade, but jerks his head instead and grunts, “Follow me.”
My eyes bounce from the magnificent windows and their views, to the magnificent ass marching in front of me. It’s encased in dove-gray suit pants that contrast with the owner’s skin beautifully. I can see his butt muscles flex with every step.
Eventually, we stop next to a door and he raps on it before spinning to address me.
“Humans do not stare at other humans’ buttocks,” he reprimands.
His overly correct speech and uptight demeanor make me want to ruffle his feathers further. He opens the door and steps back to allow me through. Another humanism, being a gentleman, but I am far from being a lady. I lightly trail my fingers over the zipper of his slacks as I enter the room.
His breath sucks in, and I feel the angry heat of his glare.
And his lust.
I can always feel someone’s lust.
Especially when it’s coupled with forbidden undertones, and nothing is more forbidden than someone like myself.
I am the taboo.
The well-lit room looks like a traditional classroom, with a chalkboard, a teacher’s desk, students’ desks, and, of course, a teacher and students.
“Vesta, I apologize for the interruption. We had a straggler,” Tall, Dark, and Forbidden intones.
It’s meant to be a public scolding in front of my ‘peers’, but all it does is get me hot and bothered.
“Headmaster Chiron, you grace us with your presence. Perhaps you would like to stay for this introductory class?” Vesta offers.
<
br /> Staying is the last thing that Chiron looks like he wants to do, but politeness makes him agree.
Apparently, being human means catering to everyone else’s wants.
My twin never did that.
She catered to her own desires.
And was punished severely.
A lesson definitely to be heeded, but I personally think humans spend too much time appeasing one another in the name of feigned politeness, rather than being honest. You can be truthful, yet not be a dick.
I think, anyway.
“You’ve missed introductions, but you can tell everyone about yourself. Your name, liminality, your ‘human’ history if you know it. . .” Vesta instructs.
Without a hint of shyness, I turn to my fellow students. The class is a mélange of liminals, some in their human form and others trying to maintain it, but failing miserably. One woman has multiple fox tails that keep winking in and out of existence. One vulpine ear sits on the top of her head, but it would seem she can keep the other hidden.
A few desks over from her is a gorgeous man with furry legs and hooves for feet. He doesn’t seem inclined to shift completely into human form and, true to my nature, I point this out to rule-following Chiron, hellbent on stirring up trouble.
“Firstly, it’s rude to question a fellow human. They do not appreciate it. Secondly, Marsyas’ job for humanity is different than everyone else’s and is his business. If you had been on time, you would know this,” Chiron answers stiffly, clearly not appreciating being questioned in front of others.
Or perhaps at all.
“It sounds like humans have sticks up their asses. . . or is that just you?”
I hear Vesta gasp, but Marsyas lets out a hearty laugh.
“As Chiron said, my name’s Marsyas and I’m a satyr. My earthly purpose is to start as many Satanic cults as possible-”
“No, it’s not!” Vesta snaps. “Learn from your human hubris! Your job is to bring about a Neo-Grecian movement in the Greek youth who are forgetting the old ways.”
“My bad, I thought that’s what I said,” Marsyas replies unrepentantly.
I giggle, bringing everyone’s focus back on me.
“I’m Lilith, or Lith, as I prefer. Liminally speaking, I’m. . . a shadow. This is my first time in corporeal form and I’m enjoying it greatly, although moving about as smoke is much easier. My human history is demonic. I’m a succubus,” I whisper seductively to the class.
“Thank you, Lil-”
“Which god created you?” a woman interrupts Vesta. Her voice has a sibilant quality, making me wonder if her liminal form is Echidna.
“Venus created me,” I answer smoothly. “She manifested herself a cock and jerked me into existence.”
Chiron lets out a strangled groan, probably remembering, and Vesta is muttering under her breath.
“I see the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,” she comments scathingly to Chiron.
“More like the jizz didn’t fall far from the dick,” I rejoin evilly.
“Isn’t the wondrous Venus our academy’s founder?” Fox Tail asks.
“Yes, she is,” Vesta answers tightly.
“Guess that kind of makes me the founder’s daughter,” I joke. “Maybe we can talk about naming the library or the sex room after me. . .”
Chiron doesn’t even say anything this time, but I swear he has steam coming from his nose and he snorts. He stomps out of the room, slamming the door behind him.
“Slamming doors is considered rude to humans!” I yell in childish glee, even though he can no longer hear me.
I see Vesta shudder.
Guess she doesn’t want to deal with Venus’ cum stain.
I mean me.
Evan’s Scent and Shit Wizards
Lilith
Vesta hands me some papers and instructs me to go sit down. I pick the furthest seat from her, for both our sakes. Marsyas scoops his stuff up and moves back one seat to sit next to me. The naughty gleam in his eyes must be reflecting the one in mine.
We’re going to have so much fun.
“Now, as I was saying,” Vesta continues, “Liminal Academy is for creatures to learn how to act and blend in on Earth, in the third dimension. All liminals are required to attend the school’s trimester classes before pursuing their objective on the human plane. Each semester only has two classes, as you can see from your syllabus.”
I look down and read, while listening to Vesta.
The first class is ‘So You Wanna Be Human’; Vesta practically chokes on the title and I smother a laugh. My creator must have named the classes as well as founding the academy. The second class for the semester is ‘Humanity and Your Purpose’.
Sounds deep.
I look up and realize Vesta is still talking. Without being in liminal form I can’t see anyone else’s, as the shadows allow me to always see someone’s true self. I wonder what Vesta really looks like. Right now, all I see is a seventy-something-year-old starched crone. The woman embodies the idea of ‘schoolmarm’ and she has a pointer that she occasionally raps on the desk for emphasis.
“You getting a naughty professor vibe from her, too?” Marsyas whispers, but Vesta still hears and shoots him a caustic glare.
I grin and waggle my eyebrows at him in agreement.
Vesta never even pauses.
“And so, if there was one thing that I want you to learn about humanity, it’s this-”
She steps to the side and points to the chalkboard behind her with a flourish. In the center, written in large elegant script, is the word ‘EVANESCENT’. Suddenly, a man, with very shaggy hair and a lupine look, groans.
“Why does it have to be about that douchebag’s smell? I fucking hate Evan, the little dickwad!”
We all look at him in confusion.
“What does that mean?” I ask with a laugh.
The guy looks disgusted when he finally answers me.
“I got failed in my last semester-”
“Teachers do not fail students!” Vesta interrupts sternly. “Only students can fail themselves. A very important lesson.”
Now the guy looks disgruntled.
“Well, I didn’t give myself that grade,” he protests.
“You did, you just didn’t know it,” Vesta clarifies for him, but he looks even more puzzled. “Regardless, this isn’t about a man named Evan and his scent. It’s a word. ‘Evanescent’ means fleeting. I was trying to underscore that your time here at Liminal Academy is fleeting, and to use it wisely. The Universe has chosen you all to take human form to fulfill its purpose. Each of you has a unique task in the human realm. This is very important work and you should feel honored. The academy’s job is to prepare you to complete your mission in the best way possible. The Universe’s ultimate goal is to create a peaceful and open cohabitation between humans and other creatures in the third dimension.”
She pauses.
And then starts right back up.
“There are no rules at the academy, except a few guidelines. Firstly, it is preferable that you maintain your human form while on school grounds, but you are also free to be yourself. As liminals, you have two forms, but for some of you, this is your first time being human. It may take you awhile to stay in this form and that is understandable. This will not affect your grade. Secondly, you may come and go as you please. Having said that, those in their first and second trimester may not enter the human realm without being escorted by a teacher. Thirdly, be on time,” Vesta says this last bit while looking me directly in the eye.
She manifests a watch and tosses it in my direction.
Marsyas easily catches it and hands it to me.
The picture on the face of the clock is of a rotten apple.
Wow.
Harsh.
I grin coolly back at Vesta. Clearly, someone doesn’t think much of me. Or my creator. I’m not given much time to ponder her apparent dislike, as the door opens again, and a gorgeous man with blond hair and blue eyes walks in. All
these men make me wish I had more legs to wrap around each of them. I feel desire elevate in the room until the air is practically permeated with it.
Vesta seems to sense the heightened emotion, too, and lays a proprietary hand on the newcomer’s shoulder. Mine, it screams. I almost laugh out loud at the absurdity of it. Even a liminal with no human understanding would find their human-form relationship odd. But I’m sure there is a human rule like ‘mind your own business’ or ‘to each their own’.
Certainly liminals have no room to judge.
Our pairings can be some of the oddest in the universe.
While distracted by her lover, I evaporate into nihility and allow my gaze to penetrate past their human shells. Vesta is a shining white woman, with blank eyes and flowing hair, and her counterpart is blue. Their coloring complements each other beautifully, and I wonder if they resent having to be in human form all the time for the sake of the students.
“I’ve never been fucked by a shadow,” Marsyas suddenly murmurs hotly next to me.
I quickly release my magic and shift back into human form.
“It would be disappointing, but I can possess someone in liminal form and then fuck you.”
He lets out a hearty laugh.
“Why do I get the impression we aren’t talking about some pretty little nymph?”
“I was thinking more like a pretty little ogre. . .”
He shudders at the thought and we both chuckle.
Like headmaster Chiron, Marsyas is tall, his cloven feet adding height to his muscled frame. His hair is a deep auburn and his eyes are a dark blue. His skin is a pale contrast to the tanned flesh of my body, and I wonder what we would look like joined in carnal bliss.
As if he can read my thoughts, Marsyas lets out a sexy growl.
I bet he fucks like an animal.
Pun intended.
Vesta’s boy-toy speaks up and breaks the spell of sensuality over the class that I swear I didn’t weave.
“Greetings, my fellow shit-wizards, my name is Water an-”
“No, no, no, no!” Vesta screeches at him.