Thomas replied, "John is staying at Hagia Sophia. He's even given himself the baptismal name Josaph.
"Hey, Zoe, stop pulling my hair. It hurts."
Vitus had no time to pay attention to his young niece. He led the crowd in a great procession toward the cathedral.
Along the way, he noticed that some shops had shut their doors. The effects of the events at the start of the year had yet to fade, souring his mood further.
Constantinople was the most important trading hub on the Mediterranean Sea. Whatever happened, he had to keep commerce in the city running and use its ample trade taxes to support the army.
Enduring the fierce afternoon sun, Vitus arrived at Augustus Forum, where Hagia Sophia stood. The flagstones had been bleached pale by the heat, and people crowded beneath the colonnades around the square.
The famous Column of Justinian rose from the square. Its shaft was dark gray granite, crowned by a bronze equestrian statue of Justinian.
"Justinian" wore a classical breastplate and a helmet topped with a cluster of peacock feathers. He held the Holy Orb in his left hand and stretched his right toward the east. Sunlight struck him from the side, obscuring the details of his face.
In 1422, on the eve of an Ottoman attack, the Holy Orb had suddenly fallen from the statue's hand. The people took it as an omen that the city was about to fall. Manuel II chose a group of acrobats to put the orb back in place, but even that failed to ease their fears.
"In the blink of an eye, more than twenty years have passed."
Vitus looked around from horseback. Hagia Sophia towered over the north side of the square, while the Great Palace of Constantinople to the south remained a