James Rasmussen

James Rasmussen
Age	16 (Secret Vampire), 17 (Later novels)
Gender	Male
Hair Color	Brown
Eye Color	Gray
Species	Lamia Vampire
Family	Madder Rasmussen (Mother), Jasper Rasmussen (Father), Jade, Ash, Rowan, and Kestrel (Cousins)
Soulmate	Poppy North
First Appearance	Secret Vampire

James Rasmussen is described as being a sullen, beautiful boy with gray eyes that turn silver when his fangs are exposed. He has brown hair that falls over his eyes. He is a descendant of Maya Hearth-Women on his mother’s side, whose maiden name is Redfern, making him a lamia vampire. James has so far appeared in two Night World books, Secret Vampire, and Soulmate.

Secret Vampire

In Secret Vampire James is introduced as the best friend of Poppy North. In the beginning of the story, James shows amazing reflexes when Poppy drops a carton of milk, catching it. Poppy had a spasm of pain in her abdomen so her mother makes her go to the hospital. Poppy's brother, Phillip, shows a great dislike for James when he scowls at James for following his sister into her room.

James goes back to his apartment where he lives alone, as his parents pay for him to live there, while Poppy goes to the hospital. She calls him in the afternoon and asked him to do research on cancer in the pancreas. James does the research on his laptop and realizes that it is a highly painful disease with a 2% survival rate. James realizes he couldn't bear it if Poppy dies so he makes a trip.

James goes to an inconspicuous cafe in the bad part of El Camino, California. The he meets with a witch named Gisele, whom he asks if he could have a spell to cure Poppy's disease. Gisele says she cannot help James because she assumes he is in love with Poppy, and her being in the aid of James is against the Night World Law. James goes to his father wondering if he will be more of help. He tells James that he worries about James's close relationship with Poppy worrying that James might fall in love with the human girl. But his father knows how much Poppy means to James and gives James permission to perform a mercy killing. James knowing that would be worse, him killing her rather than the cancer, tells his father he will think about it, knowing he might get suspicious.

James now realizes that there is only one way to save Poppy now: break Night World Law and turn her into a vampire. He comes to the hospital and tells Poppy of his true identity. Poppy accepts this is the only way for her to live and allows James to change her. In the transaction James' and Poppy's minds merge and James realizes they are soulmates. But before the first exchange of blood is over Phil walks in on their strange embrace and kicks James out of the hospital, meeting him in the parking garage and telling him to stay away from his sister. James, too tired to argue lied to Phil and said he would stay away.

The next night Poppy is moved back to her house and James takes advantage of the short distance and goes to the house to do another blood exchange, as she is about a third of the way threw the change. Their minds merge again and James is more pulled toward Poppy. But before James can give Poppy any of his blood Phil walks in on the two again and makes harsh, untrue statements about James in front of Poppy, telling her that he was just messing around with her. Poppy tells James to go away and never come back because he couldn't admit his love to her.

James worries about Poppy knowing he took too much blood and didn't give her any in turn he knows that he can't save her until Phil agrees with the process. James ambushes Phil outside a 7-11 gas station and tells him the truth about the night world and shows him his fangs. Phil sees that James is a vampire and tells James that Poppy will just have to fight for her life the normal way. James then tells Phil about a horrible memory from his past.

James has a nanny he adored named Miss Emma. James's parents worried that he was getting too attached to Miss Emma so they took him on a trip not letting him feed for three days. When James returned home the blood-lust forced him to feed on Miss Emma, a mere human. Miss Emma was dieing and James did the only thing he could thing of. He gave her some of his own blood. But Miss Emma didn't get enough vampire blood in her system to make the change, and was thus turned into a ghoul, a bloodsucking rotting human corpse. Jasper took Miss Emma to the woods and staked her with wood and buried her.

James tells Phil that’s what’s going to happen to Poppy if she doesn't get any vampire blood in her. Phil doesn't believe that will help Poppy so tells James he still can't help her.

But Phil comes threw seeing that Poppy would turn into a ghoul eventually without James' blood. James returns to Poppy, who rejects him, wanting nothing to do with him, when James tells her that he broke both of Night World's strongest laws. Telling a human about its existence and falling in love with a human, finally admitting his love towards Poppy. She allows him to continue the change and the next night Poppy goes into the sleeping Trans.

Poppy's parents return home and believe her to be dead, though Phil is in on the secret. James used mind control on the funeral service men telling them to leave the body as it is so that no harm comes to it. He disappears for 3 days until the funeral is over and Poppy is buried. He collects Phil and they break into Poppy's grave wakening her up from the Trans. On the way back to James' apartment Poppy is overturned by the blood-lust and attacks a male jogger on the night street. She almost takes too much but James gives her the choice of becoming a killer right then. Poppy stops before she drains the man's blood.

That night in James's apartment James tells Poppy of the soulmate principal and that is what the two are. Before going to bed James kisses Poppy on the forehead, giving her first kiss. The next morning James explains more about the Night World before going on a hunt for his mother, remembering that his cousin Ash Redfern is coming for a visit. Poppy being an illegal vampire cannot be seen by Ash. James eventually finds his mother only to figure out that she gave him a key to James's apartment and lent him the family car. When James gets back to his apartment neither Poppy nor Ash is there. He finds a tear-stained note from Poppy telling him Ash told her running away would be the only way to keep James safe from Night World Law. James promises to himself that every tear on the note he will break one of Ash's bones as he drives to collect Phil.

James figured out that Ash would take Poppy somewhere that he has a lot of authority, and the closest city to El Camino ruled by the Night People is Las Vegas. While in Las Vegas James questions his cross-kin witch cousins Thea and Blaise and they tell them that Ash was taking Poppy to Thierry Descouedres's Summer Solstice party. James and Phil go to Thierry's house and meet Poppy fighting Ash. The rescue Poppy before she can be turned into the Night Council. Ash tells them he was never really going to turn Poppy in, and James, very angry with his cousin, tells him that he will fall in love someday and that its will hurt.

On they way back to El Camino James asks Phil how he knew where he, Poppy, and Ash were in the house and Phil tells them he heard her shouting with her mind Get away from me you rotten vampire creep! And James discovers that Poppy and Phil are lost witches, so it is legal for Poppy to be a vampire and Phil to know about the Night World.

The story ends with James and Poppy going to search for Poppy's dad who is also a lost witch, hoping to tell him about his past.

Soulmate

In Soulmate James makes a small appearance at a Circle Daybreak meeting with many other soulmates.