Back at the river, Dar finds only the remains of the crocodile and learns from the ravaging insects that the crocodiles are uncharacteristically attacking each other. The serpent demon, Iara (Sam Healy), appears at Dar's side and hints that when death comes stalking, she always looks first at what humans are doing.

That night, Karpen and his men guard the village, but like every other night, someone is taken and the men return empty handed. On this particular night, Tao sees the phantoms, which appear to be semi-erect crocodilian figures. He reports the sighting to Dar, who goes off to investigate. Dar again encounters Iara, who wonders at his persistence in helping humans who seem bent on destroying themselves through their own ignorance. She also reveals that the victims were sacrificed to a one-eyed crocodile down river.

As Tao tends to Marika, he realizes that her body is being ravaged not by the venom of a crocodile, but by Kalanga, a sleeping potion once used to make the crocodiles sleep while the villagers fished. The antidote is a weeping blossom that grows on the other side of the crocodile-infested river, which Tao manages to reach via a dam that lets him cross safely.