The Panda Trap

By Mary Mulcahy

Chinese teen Wu Kai Li is desperate to rescue a beloved young panda from bloodthirsty bandits and lead it far up the cold, treacherous Silver Mountain to safety in its natural habitat. If she makes the decision to save the animal it will cost her everything—her father’s love and approval, her good standing with the local Communist Party boss, and possibly even her life. Around her neck, hangs a powerful jade pendant, her mother’s parting gift. Will Wu Kai Li’s psychic powers—telepathy and the ability to travel to other dimensions—be enough to save her and the panda from the crooked men that will surely track them? Or from the shifting energies of the mountain that took the lives of her mother and brother?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mary Mulcahy
• Release date: May 20, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005633462

Mary Mulcahy

This is Mary Mulcahy’s first novel. She is excited to reveal to her readers the beauty and richness of China, its people and culture. She has lived in many places in the United States as well as in Bogotà, Colombia, and has traveled extensively around the world. China stands as her favorite country to visit.Mary has three daughters and three granddaughters, and resides in Arizona with her husband. Her advice to would be explorers? “Travel to China if given the chance.”

Book preview

Chapter 1

Sichuan Province, China, Autumn 2020

The rising sun flooded Wu Kai Li’s tiny bedroom, evaporating the early fall chill and warming the floor where she lay on her sleeping mat next to the wall. The fifteen-year-old extended her arms and arched her back in a delicious morning stretch. She looked across the room at Ma’s photo hanging above the small bookcase. Kindness streamed from her mother’s eyes. That felt connection guided Kai Li’s heart before she faced each day.

Her eyes flicked up to the wall clock. Right on time, as always. Fu Long’s tiny dragon wings thrummed overhead. She sat up, extending her arm so the spirit-dragon could land on her upturned palm.

Good morning, Wu Kai Li. He mind-spoke straight into Kai Li’s head and she answered in kind. Hands on his hips, he pursed his leathery lips and looked at her with a toothy grin. The intense yellow color of his eyes complemented his emerald green scales, making him look striking rather than cute. He stood no more than three inches tall and weighed about as much as a thick rice cake.

He’d arrived two years ago, when Kai Li’s world began spinning out of control. Ancient in his bloodline but modern in his thinking, Fu Long had guided her through many lifetimes, showing up when she needed him most. His affection for her showed in his face. When she needed help, his understanding and wisdom provided ways to look at things that expanded her thinking. His abiding support eased the pain and loneliness that haunted her when Father’s mood turned sour.

Fu Long’s eyes twinkled with anticipation this morning. Are you ready for your final test? He continued without waiting for a response. As you might imagine, this last one is the most difficult challenge of the six. For the past year, he’d been transporting her to his teaching amphitheater, an alternate reality he called the Vision-World, to teach her how to handle fear. You must be prepared for your destiny, he added.

Just what is it? Kai Li slipped on her shoes. When would he reveal the overall purpose for these lessons?

The dragon’s eyes closed as a smile drew his lips wide across his face. First you must pass the final test. He flew off her hand and gave the usual instructions: Drop from your thinking mind into your body. Pay attention to your breath, but don’t force it. He paused. Note the expanded state that arises. Hold that space as long as you can. A puff of spirit fire filled the air in front of Kai Li’s nose. Inhale now.

She knew the steps as well as her name, but truly mastering them had sometimes proven difficult. She drew a slow, deep breath. The flowery smell of plum blossoms accompanied the other-worldly flame that flowed into her lungs. She turned toward Ma’s photo and watched it spin into a blur as the transformation began to take effect. Then came the high-pitched whine and familiar tunnel that would transport both her and Fu Long to their destination in the Vision-World. While her physical body remained on the mat, her subtle-energy-body would travel with the dragon to the alternate dimension where she would manifest again in physical form.

A long minute later, a gentle bump signaled their arrival. Fu Long had once more slipped them through a warp in space to a timeless place where anything could happen.

Coming back into solid form seated on the ground in the Vision World, Kai Li struggled to get her bearings. Tendrils of damp cold penetrated the thin fabric of her nightgown. She shivered. Though she trusted Fu Long with her life, a flicker of unexpected uneasiness arose. She drew a deep breath, releasing it through her mouth.

The dragon alighted onto her outstretched hand. He cocked his head at a jaunty angle and looked at her. The last time they visited here, a pink hue had illuminated everything. Today the lighting had changed. At the moment, Fu Long’s scales sparkled a light teal in the strange, moving light of the alternate dimension.

Each challenge had its own particular setting and today was no exception. She looked around, then gathered her legs under her body and stood, taking care to steady the hand on which her spirit-guide sat.

Fu Long always seemed to have a sense of how the challenges would begin, leading her to believe that he alone had created them, but knowing he had his secrets, she kept her curiosity to herself.

The dragon gestured forward toward a stand of tall evergreens in the distance. The flat, hardpan terrain that led to the trees enabled them to cover a distance of about fifty feet without delay. Soon giant conifers loomed over their heads, filling the air with the scent of spice. The smell reminded Kai Li of the exciting tales she’d read of Marco Polo and the Silk Road, but this was no time for history.

The Vision-World’s materiality functioned in many ways the same as her own world’s—actions had consequences. But here, time could speed up or slow down and today she sensed a high-velocity challenge. She must pay attention to every detail and count on herself to respond quickly with clarity of intent. The Vision-World held unexpected dangers. No doubt she’d soon encounter them.

A few feet into the tall evergreens, the light dimmed. The scraping of branch against branch forced her attention upward. A patchwork of pastel colors shimmered in the bare sky showing between the treetops.

You must pass this test by finding your deepest connection to all that is, and return before your parents rise for breakfast, Fu Long said. He seemed excited. Look, there, past the trees.

Kai Li followed the dragon’s line of sight into a sprawling space beyond. They picked up their pace. When they’d left the evergreens behind and stood at the edge of the clearing, they halted. She glanced down. The earth underfoot had become softer and almost black. It smelled of decay and stuck to her shoes. Intermittent clumps of foot-high tan grasses punctuated the blackness, and bits and pieces of fallen tree detritus littered the bare patches.

The time had come for Kai Li to surrender her active mind into the depths of her awareness and become hyper-alert. At once, the air turned deadly calm. She took a deep, slow breath, finding no problem with focus. Something’s coming, she whispered. Its energy pulses along the ground. A rice-sized grain of tension settled in her solar plexus.

The dragon spiraled onto her shoulder. Go to the center of the clearing and sit down, he said. Then he disappeared.

Kai Li edged forward and sat cross-legged. There was no turning back now. The wind picked up again, humming through the trees, playing at the edges of her nightgown.

A rustling in the underbrush on the far side of the clearing drew her attention. With her heart beating in anticipation, she stared toward the sound. A huge viper emerged from behind a stand of tall grass. It slid toward her. There was no mistaking the narrow neck, wide body and broad head. She’d seen them near her village, but never this close, or this big.

The snake paused and fixed an unblinking eye on her. Even at a distance, she detected the heavy, fetid odor it emitted. The rasp of its dry skin on the bark-strewn areas sent a shiver down her spine. The reptile’s hollow fangs lay folded back, but when it struck, they would stab forward into her skin, shooting deadly poison into her body. The venom would travel quickly through her bloodstream, wreaking havoc.

In quick response to a rush of adrenalin flooding her cells, her survival brain signaled flight. She would have to overcome the resulting urge to run. This challenge would first require her to use her mental powers to calm herself and then vanquish the beast. I can do this, she said aloud, remembering that wits would save her now, not her reaction to fear. With profound resolve she forced herself to breathe and remain perfectly still. The warmth of relaxation returned and this time held fast. She couldn’t disappoint Ma and Fu Long, and more importantly herself, by failing the last of the challenges offered in this strange world.

Kai Li’s mind raced for a way to survive. She scanned the clearing for something to fight off the snake. Nothing. Could she outrun the viper? No. If that wouldn’t work, what would? She waited, listening to the quiet in her mind. A possibility arose. She could seek help from beings in other dimensions who served humanity in times of great need. In her previous Vision-World challenge, she had tried to call for such help but failed. Since then, Fu Long had coached her in the skill, but it required high levels of unbroken concentration from a state of complete internal peace. Could she do it while a threatening viper slithered toward her? She had to take the risk and trust herself.

She dropped into the emptiest space within her being. In a few moments, all remaining doubts slipped away, supplanted by a peaceful confidence. Her mind focused to a fine point. Her mouth opened wide and she called into the wind three times: Guardians of The Protector Dimensions, help me, please. I need you now.

The snake glided unerringly toward her. Kai Li sent a picture of its own death into the beast’s mind. She felt the message register there, but that action did nothing to stop the snake. Still no help appeared. Holding on to her state of inner peace, she began chanting. With each note, her calls gained volume. Soon, only the chants existed. Her pure tones pierced the heart of the forest and traveled into dimensions beyond. The trees surrounding the clearing began to sway in harmony with her sounds. Connected to everything around her, Kai Li intensified her call for help.

The reptile inched forward, closing the distance between them. Even when the gap between them seemed life-threatening, her intense focus did not falter. Her intonations continued filling the air, rich and clear. When the snake lay a mere arm’s length from her body, it suddenly raised its head skyward in alarm. Its forked tongue stabbed the air, but no strike came.

Kai Li followed the snake’s stare to a dark streak in the pastel sky. An enormous falcon hovered overhead, awash in a brilliant light. Despite the long expanse between them, a flash of recognition shot from the bird’s eyes to hers. The raptor had come to help her.

With talons unsheathed and flashing, the great bird plunged downward, unleashing a scream that made the trees tremble. At the sound of that piercing cry, the snake recoiled and fled at great haste into the underbrush.

In the moments the falcon had flown at the viper, Kai Li could have sworn her own fingers had morphed into talons, and a sharp, curved beak pushed out of her face. Had she shape-shifted into oneness with the falcon? Ma had told her of shamans in the Altai Mountains of Siberia who could do such things, and that with some training, Kai Li, with her extraordinary psychic gifts, might develop this capacity herself. Ma had always encouraged Kai Li’s intuitive talents, but never had this shape-changing happened in the past. Before she had a chance to ask the falcon about it, the magnificent bird pumped its wings and spiraled upward.

Mustering all the volume she could, Kai Li cupped her hands around her mouth and called after it, A million thanks, great falcon.

If only Older Brother could have seen her today. He would have taken back the years of merciless teasing over her fear of the dark. Unlike Kai Li, he had not been able to see the subtle, strange forms that often vibrated in the murky night.

Most people think of them as hungry ghosts wanting to communicate and be fed, Ma had told her. Ignore them, Daughter. But Kai Li couldn’t help feeling nervous as the ghouls waved their see-through limbs at her, their mouths working in heads with empty eye sockets.

Her attention returned to the Vision-World. The snake would not come back. Once she’d succeeded in solving a challenge, her opponent remained vanquished. She stood and brushed a few strips of bark from her legs.

Before she could further reflect on what had just occurred, a maelstrom of chaotic thoughts rushed into her mind, offset by distressing images of her young panda friend, Ni Hao, pleading for help. She waited for impressions with sense-making clarity to flow into her mind, but a frustrating tangle of information continued to produce only confusion.

Fu Long appeared from the surrounding foliage and flew onto her upturned palm. You’re distressed, Kai Li.

Oh, Fu Long. My panda friend, Ni Hao, is in trouble. She wrapped her arms around herself. She’s not safe but I can’t see what has—

The dragon interrupted, I have seen it, Kai Li. She’s been captured by a band of men in your own village for trashing someone’s garden. They’ve secured your little panda in a cage in Meishan’s town center.

Kai Li’s heart lurched. By the gods, no! She well knew the fate of pandas that climbed down Silver Mountain from the safety of their habitat to the village. Without exception, each such unfortunate animal had been sent to a faraway zoo, usually across the country. Never had such an interloper been returned to its natural home. Dread carried Kai Li’s voice upward. I promised Ni Hao I’d keep her safe.

You have a special bond with her, don’t you? Compassion shone from Fu Long’s eyes.

I can’t let her be sent away. Kai Li’s throat began to close. I can’t, Fu Long. Tears gathered at the edges of her lids. What can I do? A feeling of helplessness gripped her whole being.

Remember, my young friend, you have just completed your final test. You possess many skills and knowledge that can be applied to this crisis, even though no solution seems apparent.

His tone reassured her, but a moment later he frowned. Time for you to return home. Your father is pacing the house looking for you. Quick, breathe in my fire.

Kai Li drew in a breath and felt herself spirited down the tunnel she knew led home.

Chapter 2

Back on her sleeping mat, Kai Li ran her hands up and down her body, making sure she had fully returned from the Vision-World. Satisfied, her mind flew to Ni Hao. It would take four or five days before a government agent would arrive to remove the little panda to a zoo. No effort would be made to make the difficult, four-hour climb up Silver Mountain to return the animal to its habitat.

She gazed again at Ma’s photo—the only image of her mother that Father permitted in the house. A fresh flower sat beneath it as an offering to keep away hungry ghosts. Ma. What can I do? Ni Hao has been captured and I’ve lost my ability to mind-speak with her at the moment.

Kai Li could hear Ma in her characteristic manner encouraging her not to lose heart. They both possessed the ability to read minds, to communicate with animals and plants through mind-speak, to foretell the future and read the past. Kai Li had never known a person as psychic as her mother, yet so grounded and loving. And such a wonderful teacher. A long sigh escaped her lips.

Remembering that Fu Long had rushed her back home to avoid upsetting Father, her attention turned to his whereabouts. Had his interest in finding her evaporated? She listened for the familiar morning sounds of the house. Silence reigned, but then with no warning, Father rounded the teak screen blocking her doorway and hung over her. Why aren’t you ready? He glared down with angry eyes.

She regarded his face. A thousand pardons, Father. Ready for what? Lines of confusion etched into her forehead. The aroma of garlic-chili paste scented the house. Stepmother had started breakfast already.

Without explaining further, he turned on his heel and stomped out into the central room, but not before deepening his scowl. Kai Li’s hand flew to the jade pendant around her neck, a gift from Ma, her good luck charm and a treasured possession. She never took it off. Touching it now lessened her rising anxiety.

She grabbed the light pants and tunic she’d worn yesterday and snugged her slim body into them as fast as she could. Looking into the small mirror that hung near the doorway, she braided her hair until it hung in a neat, black line down her back. Ma had told her that eyes were a window into one’s spirit and that Kai Li’s, almond-shaped and upturned at the outer edges, were kind and pure, reflecting inner beauty. In this moment, they seemed only reservoirs of uncertainty.

Stepping around the teak screen, she left her room and headed twenty feet across the white tiles to join Father at the wooden dining table. On her way, she stared at the ancestor altar against the far wall. On it sat a small bronze statue of the Buddha with a bowl of fresh fruit at his feet. In keeping with tradition, photos of deceased relatives graced the altar, but none of Ma and Older Brother had been placed there. By not including their images, Father had broken with tradition and invited hungry ghosts to feed on their spirits. Every day, Kai Li worried about their souls, but she had given up trying to change Father’s mind. Without a sound, she turned and slipped into her seat opposite him.

Stepmother’s cushioned slippers scuffed from the kitchen across the tiles to the table. A bowl and chopsticks had been set at both Father’s and Kai Li’s seats. The silent figure now placed a large serving bowl of chili-peppered rice noodles and one of sticky buns on the large, wooden turntable in the center, then without a word retreated to the kitchen. Father had married Sun a year ago, one year after Ma’s death. The woman hardly ever spoke and carried herself with slumped shoulders as if bearing a fifty-pound sack of rice. This morning, Kai Li noticed a distinct darkness in her aura.

Father leafed through the yellowing pages of an ancient looking book while he ate a rice bun and ignored Kai Li. She could read most minds, but his thoughts remained hidden from her. Fu Long had suggested that her fear of him prevented her from getting into his head. True enough. Father’s daily criticisms and refusal to teach her plant medicine stuck in her heart. As if this didn’t cause her enough frustration, she hated his iron rule against any mention of Ma or Older Brother, or of the terrible accident on Silver Mountain that had taken their lives. He acted as though they had never existed.

Each time Father shifted position on his bamboo fiber seat it creaked. A ray of sunlight from a nearby window bounced off the glazed china bowl holding his noodles. In bright blue on the outside curve of the stark white bowl, the Chinese character for harmony stood out as a painful reminder that no one under their roof was enjoying inner peace. Even the sweet smell of joss smoking on a nearby shelf did not lighten the atmosphere. The pasty incense, certain to bring blessings wherever burned, wasn’t working.

Behind Father, a small pearl beetle struggled up the whitewashed wall. Like the insect, Kai Li felt tiny and vulnerable. Hello, little beetle, she said to it in mind-speak. You need to run in back of the picture before someone kills you. The bug disappeared behind the framed landscape of a lone traveler dwarfed by a mountain. In her mind, she heard the insect’s thanks.

Kai Li’s attention glided back to Father. Why the delay in telling her what had made him angry? A shock of jet-black hair shot across his high forehead at a diagonal. His face looked pinched. Surrounding his dark-rimmed eyes lay a web of wrinkles that made him appear older than his forty-five years.

Father’s chopsticks clicked in a steady rhythm each time he wound noodles onto the smooth sticks, balancing each bite, not letting a single strand slide away. He controlled her the same way, always demanding perfection. At the thought, her foot began a light staccato tap on the floor.

A closer examination of the clothes hanging on his lean frame helped Kai Li guess the problem. He had dressed in padded long pants and a thick cotton shirt with long sleeves, covering the outfit with a vest—clothes he wore to collect healing plants for his patients. He wanted to climb Silver Mountain today for plants, but hadn’t told her. She had dressed in flimsy cotton pants and a tunic, unsuitable attire for the rugged, soaring mountain with its unpredictable weather.

She contemplated her once good-natured father. As a traditional Chinese doctor, he knew better than anyone that inner peace was as important to health as the idea that food was medicine. Over the last few years, he had overlooked both of these important principles. His face held harried eyes and a down-turned mouth. Her heart ached for him.

He looked up and met her stare. You knew we planned to collect plants today, Daughter. You overslept, and have dressed in the wrong clothes. Your negligence delays us.

So sorry, Father. Her compassion for him withered. She hated the icy tone tightening his words. Under the table, her foot jittered faster. No point in arguing that he hadn’t told her.

Outside on the road, a donkey brayed. The crack of a whip sounded against its flanks. It screamed. Kai Li felt a pang in her heart. In mind-speak she told the donkey to do what its owner asked in order to avoid getting beaten. She listened in her own mind. The animal responded that it would try harder.

Her ability to communicate with plants and animals, encouraged by Ma, added a highly valued dimension to Kai Li’s life, giving her an experience of the unity of all life on the planet. Linked to her world in a deep, satisfying way, her empathy knew no limits. But with the gift came the inevitable felt suffering of others.

We leave soon. Father jerked his head toward her room, disregarding her uneaten breakfast.

Kai Li slipped out of her seat. Of late, when Father threw harsh words and orders at her, she found it harder and harder to hold back the thoughts and hurts that had gone unexpressed since Ma and Older Brother’s deaths. Not wanting to spiral into negative thinking, she tried to find a positive, life-enhancing idea on which to focus. It came in micro-seconds. Going up the mountain today would cause her to miss school—the last day of classes before the coming three-day Moon Festival holiday. Four days off. Yay. Father’s voice interrupted her thoughts.

And, Daughter. His caught her not far from the table. Tomorrow morning at eight sharp you will go to Chou’s shop. He has a special package of dried fungi for me. Be there when the store opens. He expects you.

But, Father, Kai Li stammered, starting tomorrow there’s no school for the next three days and you gave permission for me to go overnight with Sumi and her mother—to her grandmother’s house for the holiday. In Yunnan. Tension constricted her tone. They already have a ticket for me. We leave at dawn. Don’t you remember?

No, Daughter, I don’t. Dr. Wu’s gaze pinned her in place. You will carry out my order and get the fungi at eight. No wiggle-room registered in his voice.

A huge exhalation deflated her chest. She managed to choke out, Yes, Father, but a few steps from her room, she felt fire burning in her gut. With tremendous restraint, she suppressed her disappointment and anger. Tears lay frozen in the corners of her eyes.

Wife, Dr. Wu called out in the direction of the kitchen, we leave in ten minutes. Have food and water ready by the front door. And my hiking stick and thick padded jacket.

Stepmother’s fragile frame approached the table, her hands moving in a cotton towel. Her eyes were pools of resignation. Yes, Husband. She headed back for the kitchen like an obedient soldier, her soft-soled shoes dragging on the smooth tile.

Father gazed back at Kai Li, stopped halfway to her room. Be at the door in five minutes. Today we go all the way up to panda habitat. He dismissed her with a sweep of his hand, then thought better of it. One more thing, Daughter. Tomorrow at first light, I leave for Chengdu and Emeishan Village to meet my medical obligations. He stared into her face, his jaw set. In two days, maybe three, I’ll return. While I’m away, you will do as Stepmother directs.

But Father, if you won’t be back for a couple of days, I could still go with Sumi and get your dried fungi before you return home. You won’t need it until after I’m back in town.

You heard my orders, Daughter. Do not argue.

She hurried into her room. The fire in her belly moved up to include the back of her neck. He had spoiled her plans with Sumi for nothing. No reason at all, except he felt like it. Hatred flooded her consciousness, but hatred was not the Buddhist way. She yearned to be a good Buddhist, a kind and good person. More than anything, she wanted peace, love and acceptance.

Her mouth made a tight line as she hurried to gather the necessary items for the climb. After setting a few things by the front door, she ran back to her room and threw on heavier clothes.

I miss you, Ma, she whispered to Ma’s photo. You always acted with fairness. She longed to hear Ma utter her milk name, Li-Li, the intimate nickname given at birth and known and used only by the immediate family. She hadn’t heard it in two long years.

Her thoughts turned to panda territory and her precious Ni Hao. What fickleness of the gods was at work today? Ni Hao sat trapped ten minutes away in the center of town, while in moments, Kai Li and Father would begin their four-hour climb up Silver Mountain to panda habitat. A deep sense of helplessness filled Kai Li’s being.

Just before joining Father at the door, she tuned into Ni Hao’s mind again and felt the panda’s distress. Ni Hao’s journey down the mountain and into someone’s garden for food was an innocent gesture, yet it stood as an unforgivable behavior. From the gardener’s point of view, such an action was criminal. Everything growing in a rural garden represented hard work, food for the family, and money, which was often scarce.

If only she could share Ni Hao’s capture with Father, but that would never feel safe. Her ongoing friendship with a panda and their shared telepathic connection would displease him. Ma had kept many secrets that made openness difficult. She’d never told Father about Kai Li’s exceptional psychic abilities nor her own. The secrecy protected them, she’d warned. Village people harbored many superstitions. Those fears could run high even in the folks closest to you. Reading tea leaves was one thing, even encouraged. But Ma advised Kai Li many times to keep the realm of the deep psychic to herself or run the risk of gaining the headman’s disfavor, or worse—being labeled a dark witch.

No. Father would neither support nor assist her. Kai Li’s shoulders heaved in a long sigh. Ni Hao’s and her dilemma could not be solved now. After a quick call to Sumi to cancel their travel plans, with backpack in hand, she sped to where Father waited at the door. She grabbed her hiking boots from the shoe shelf, sat down and laced them up. Father hovered over her, watching, tapping his foot. Into her pack, nervous hands shoved her jacket, clipping tools, and several sheets of folded burlap for wrapping fragile specimens. She wriggled in two sets of chopsticks, two bowls and the food Stepmother had